CLAREMONT, Calif.-- The George Fox cross country team competed in the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships, running against the best Division III teams in the west. The men finished with a score of 95 for fourth place, while the women finished with a score of 152 for sixth place. 

Top Performances
Caden Hildenbrand was the first Bruin to cross the finish line with a time of 25:27.6, for the men earning seventh place overall in the men's 8k. Running a 25:46.6 for 17th place, Kellin Ruiz wasn't far behind. He was followed by Nate Hamilton and Andrew Dewar, who ran 26:02.5 and 26:08.3, respectively. Hamilton and Dewar finished 22nd and 24th overall, with Dewar being the highest-finishing freshman in the region. By virtue of finishing in the top 35, all four athletes finished as All-Region athletes.

The final All-Region athlete for the Bruin men was Westin Madden, who secured 30th place with a time of 26:14.4. Eli Krueger ran a 27:24.4, earning a 90th-place finish. Rounding out the men's race for George Fox was Jefferson Smith, who ran 27:42.2 to place 103rd among strong competition.

Emily Foote led the way for George Fox in the women's 6k. She finished just 20 seconds behind the first-place runner with a time of 21:48.3, earning fourth place overall. Only a minute later came Hope Bridge, finishing 18th with a time of 22:43.0. Chloe Cook followed with a competitive 23:09.6 for 36th place overall, and Natalie Oathout wasn't far behind, running 23:26.5 to claim 45th.

Reese Borchert and Abbie Goodwin finished only eleven seconds apart. Borchert ran 23:38.7 for 51st place, while Goodwin rounded out the race for George Fox with a time of 23:49.7, placing 55th overall. The Bruins were dealt an unfortunate hand when NWC Freshman of the Year Sara Marino went down with an injury early in the race. Marino would not finish for Fox.

Foote and Bridge finished in the top 35 runners, earning women's All-Region recognition.

Coach's Thoughts
"Tough, tough conditions today but we were ready for it," Bruin head coach Mike Wilson said, "Our men ran brilliantly. It was an awesome effort to have five guys all-region. I think this team is one of the best 32 teams in the country, but we'll see if the committee agrees. It was a tough day on the women's side. Emily ran great. Sara sadly had a DNF, so that was a really tough blow to our team effort. She's a valuable piece of what we have going on, and she'll bounce back strong. I feel similarly about our women's team: they belong at the national meet from a very deep region, but we'll see how it shakes out."

Up Next
The team will find out if they qualify for nationals on Sunday morning, though, as top seven finishers in the race, Caden Hildenbrand and Emily Foote will be moving on to the NCAA National Championship in Spartanburg, S.C. on November 22nd. Depending on team qualification, others could join — the top seven finishers from all non-qualifying teams will compete as individuals. The races will begin at 7am and 8am.