MONMOUTH, Ore. -- The George Fox cross country team excelled in their final race before the National Preview meet, with both their men's and women's teams securing top three finishes at the Mike Johnson Classic on Friday morning.

Top Performances
Ellie Rising led the charge on the women's side, clocking in at 21:56.0 on her way to a superb 4th-place finish, her best of the season so far. 

Breanna Schmitt followed closely, securing an impressive 6th place with a time of 22:19.5. Next in line for the Bruins was Hope Bridge, who clinched a 9th place finish, crossing the line at 22:35.8. Karina Rodriguez and Abbie Goodwin rounded out scoring for Fox, finishing 19th and 20th respectively. The Bruins finished in third place as a team, just behind Portland State. 

On the men's side, Trevor Wilber led the Bruins to a second-place team finish, securing his first top-ten individual result of the season with a time of 25:47:6. 

Ryan Scholtes finished in 17th in his first 8K race of the season, with a time of 26:15:9, closely followed by Benjamin Bourne, who crossed the line in 26:20.1. Rounding out the top five for George Fox was Larry Trefry and Alden Williams who clocked in at 27:40.8 and 27:45.0 respectively.

Coach's Thoughts
"Ellie Rising ran just off her PR, while Breanna Schmitt and Hope Bridge ran big PRs to place well. Awesome races across the board for our group. We didn't run 4 of our top 7, so I am looking forward to what we can do when we go full squad in a few weeks," Bruin head coach Mike Wilson said, "On the men's side, we had nice efforts as well. Trevor Wilber put himself in the race early and earned a top-10 finish. Ryan Scholtes and Benjamin Bourne both put up PRs today to run 2nd and 3rd for us, so that was very solid. Behind those guys, we saw a few other PRs, so a decent day overall. We didn't run anyone in our top 10, so also looking forward to where we're standing on the national level in a few weeks." 

Up Next
The Bruins will now have a week off to train and rest before traveling to Newville, Pennsylvania, for the DIII National Preview. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 7th.