NWC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Bruin Men and Women Both Finish 9th in Conference Races

BROOKS, Ore. - Top 20 finishes by Kyle Dreibelbis for the men and Courtney Hochstetler for the women highlighted individual performances but could not prevent the George Fox University men’s and women’s cross country teams from each finishing ninth at the Northwest Conference Championships Saturday here at Willamette Mission State Park.

“We had some fine individual showings,” said George Fox distance coach Jeff Larson, “but our overall lack of depth, plus the relative strength of the other teams in our conference, kept us from finishing as high as we would have liked.”

Men

In the men’s 8K race, Whitworth University took first place with 45 points, four points ahead of Willamette University with 49.  Host Linfield College was third with 84 points, followed by Lewis & Clark College with 124, Pacific University with 138, Whitman College with 145, Pacific Lutheran University with 182, the University of Puget Sound with 189, and George Fox with 208.

Dreibelbis clocked in with a 26:09.75, a personal best, to finish 16th overall and for team scoring.  Also counting for the Bruins were Joseph Pia with a 27:13.51 (48th/45th), Aaron Molstad with a 27:23.58 (52nd/48th), Kody Tarbell with a 27:24.18 (54th/49th), and Allen Cassel with a 27:26.41 (56th/50th).

Rounding out the George Fox men’s group were Mike Calavan with a 27:37.94 (61st), Austin Morrell with a 28:13.93 (73rd), Matt Romey with a 28:59.68 (76th), Jahnathon Larson with a 29:04.91 (77th), and Tyler Magill with a 29:51.04 (82nd). 

“Kyle obviously ran a very good race for us, and Aaron, Kody, and Mike gave us some of their best times as well,” noted Larson.  “Joseph was actually on a pace to finish in the top 10 at least, but suffered an asthma attack on the fourth lap and had to drop back.”

The men’s winner was Leo Castillo of Willamette, who ran a 25:02.52, over 19 seconds better than runner-up Scott Gage of Linfield, who had a 25:21.74.  Trevor Berrian of Whitworth took third with a 25:26.33.

Women

Lewis & Clark edged Willamette 64 points to 66 in a very competitive women’s 6K race.  Linfield and Whitman were not far behind with 74 and 77 points respectively.  Puget Sound took fifth with 120 points, followed by Whitworth with 151, Pacific Lutheran with 174, Pacific with 205, and George Fox with 225.

Hochstetler turned in a time of 23:05.46 to finish 19th overall and for team scoring.  Also scoring points for the Bruins were Sarah MacKenzie with a time of 24:18.13 (50th/47th), Kate Freiheit with a 24:19.71 (52nd/48th), Chelsea Sowards with a 24:35.64 (57th/53rd), and Alyssa Turner with a 25:17.90 (66th/58th).

Other Bruin runners included Alisha Haresnape with a 25:46.46 (71st), and Anna Thomas with a 26:48.08 (81st).

“Courtney has come on strong as a freshman and ran a very good race,” said Larson.  “We just needed a little more out of our veteran runners.  Kate actually was only about 10 seconds off her pace of last year when she led our team, but her finish is a sign that the conference itself has significantly improved.”

Illana Livstrom of Lewis & Clark defeated Joy Shufeldt of Whitworth by 10 seconds to win the women’s individual title, 21:50.04 to 22:00.44.  Theresa Edwards of Willamette came in third with a 22:01.61.

The top seven finishers in each race were accorded All-NWCV First Team honors, while finishers 8-14 received All-NWC Second Team recognition. Lewis & Clark’s Keith Woodard and Whitworth’s Toby Schwartz were selected by their peers as the NWC Women’s and Men’s Coaches of the Year respectively.

Complete results of the Northwest Conference Championship races, courtesy of the Linfield sports information office, are available on the George Fox men’s and women’s cross country website at http://athletics.georgefox.edu/sports/xc/2011-12/files/1029.htm. 

NEXT: The Bruins will take next weekend off before sending a few runners to compete in the NCAA Division III West Regional races on Saturday, Nov. 12, in Claremont, Calif.  The first race is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. on a course at the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, with Occidental College serving as the event’s host.