McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- In the George Fox cross country 2023 season opener, the Bruins took a strategic approach by using the race as a practice session, allowing their top runners to rest. Despite this, the team's improvement was commendable, with Fox finishing 6th in the men's race and 10th in the women's.

Top Performances
Trevor Wilber led the way for the Bruin men in the 6k as he secured the 36th position with a time of 19:30.3. Meanwhile, Patrick Adkisson clinched the 39th position with a time of 19:37.7. 

Benjamin Bourne finished behind the two in 55th with a time of 20:05.1, while Ryan Scholtes finished 59th with a time of 20:16.3. Max Chalpoutis took 75th place with a time of 20:36.4. Blake Reid, Brent Roetcisoender, Alden Williams, and Larry Trefry Jr rounded out the top scorer for the Bruins.

Among the women, Hope Bridge displayed her potential as she secured the 55th place with a time of 15:59.0. Aubree Carr and Abbie Goodwin followed closely behind, finishing 60th and 61st, respectively, with times of 16:11.1 and 16:12.8.

Athena Lau secured 73rd place with a time of 16:35.3, while Reese Meager finished 79th with a time of 16:46.9 to round out the Bruins.

While the Bruins chose to rest their top runners for this meet, it provided valuable experience for the rest of the team and served as a foundation for their upcoming races in the season.

Coach's Thoughts
"Today was practice for our freshmen and then a handful of others who haven't had a race in a minute," Bruin head coach Mike Wilson said, "We have some work to do, but pretty solid overall, especially on the men's side. Pretty impressive runs from Trevor Wilber and Patrick Adkisson. Both guys look like they had a solid summer."

Up Next
The Bruins will prep for another race on Saturday, Sept. 16, as they travel to Independence, Ore. in the Oak Knoll Loop run.