McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- The George Fox Cross Country team put together a solid performance in their 2024 season opener, allowing the runners to ease back into race competition at the Linfield Harrier Classic. Using the day as a training run, the women's team placed third in the 4K event, while the men's team finished in 5th for the 6K. 

Top Performances
Ellie Rising led the way for the Bruin women, running a blistering time of 14:20.09 to finish in eighth place and open her senior season with a PR time. 

Breanna Schmitt also impressed; finishing in 14th after crossing the line in 14:49.16. Meanwhile, Annalise Gonzales and Hannah Tranby also secured top-25 finishes, placing in 23rd and 24th, respectively, with their times of 15:19.21 and 15:21.63. As a team, the Bruins only finished behind two D-I programs in Oregon State and Portland.

In the men's race, Austin Gappa also opened his season with a PR run, finishing in 18:36.54 to place 9th as the top finisher for George Fox. 

Adam Peterson was next in line for the Bruins, running a time of 19:14.52 to finish in 21st, while sophomore Caden Hildenbrand placed 25th after crossing the line in 19:17.09. Gabriel Lachenmeier, Aidan Arthuer, Kellen Ruiz, and Caleb Doddington rounded out the top seven finishers for Dox.

Coach's Thoughts
"It was a strong day for the women," Bruin head coach Mike Wilson said, "To be in workout mode and finish 3rd behind two D1 powerhouses… I feel great about that! Ellie looked amazing and our midpack stepped up nicely. Overall, a pretty clean race tactic and I think we took away from it what we needed to. On the men's side, we cut down very nicely. We were also in workout mode, only pushing the last 2K of the effort, so I'm pretty pumped with where we're at fitness-wise on the last day of August. Austin Gappa looked fantastic up front and our depth is very encouraging to watch. Strong debut for a lot of our freshmen! Overall, it was a great day."

Up Next
The Bruins will now begin preparation for their next meet on Saturday, September 21st, where they travel to Tacoma, Wash. for the PLU Invitational. The first race is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.