SALEM, Ore. -- The George Fox cross country team had a good day running in the George Oja Invitational, with Emily Foote smashing a program record en route to a fourth-place finish for the women and the men placing fourth as well.

Top Performances
Senior Emily Foote continued to impress, setting the tone with a blistering time of 20:49.50 in the 6000m run. The graduate transfer from Oregon State started out of the gates quickly — a move that head coach Mike Wilson said was intentional — and it paid off. Foote's time was not only a 40-second personal best, not only the best time in the NWC in 2025, but breaks a 34 year old school record; the previous program record for the 6k was 20:53.0, set by Jill Beals in 1991.

Not to be outdone, Hope Bridge was just under a minute behind Foote in 25th place, finishing with a time of 21:40.70 — a 20-second personal best. Chloe Cook was next with a time of 22:18.20, while Ree Borchert was ten seconds following her, with 22:28.50. 

Sara Marino, Marcella Leita, and Natalie Oathout kept under 23 minutes, making the top 80 — Marino (22:33.00), Leita (22:36.00), and Oathout (22:44.60). Each of the women achieved PRs for the day; all in all, nine women ran under 23 minutes.

In the Men's 8000m, the first Bruin to cross the finish line was Caden Hildenbrand at a time of 4:45.70 in 35th place. Jefferson Smith was on his toes, coming in with a 24:53.80 time, with Kellin Ruiz and Ryan Lippert finishing together with times of 4:59.10. 

Meanwhile, Jacob Shin came in a few seconds later with a time of 25:03.40, and Arauny Reyes had a very close time of 25:03.60—just ten milliseconds behind. Then, Andrew Dewar was just two seconds behind with 25:05.40—each of the men earning solid PRs for the day. As teams, both the men and women finished fourth — but, Fox ended the day as the top-finishing Division III team on each side.

Coach's Thoughts
"Today was a great day overall," head coach Mike Wilson said, "I think we've known our team is strong, but today it was nice to see our group put together a complete effort. When we have a roster the size that it is, not everyone is going to have a huge day on the same day, but overall we really showed up well as a team today. We need to show up and race well when it matters in a few weeks, but overall, the teams did an excellent job competing and making adjustments off our last races."

What Happens Next
A select few of the Bruins will make their way to Tacoma, Was. to compete in the NWC Championship next month on Saturday, November 1. The start time is to be determined.