ESTACADA, Ore. -- The George Fox Cross Country teams eased their way into the new season, using the Lewis & Clark Opener as a workout for several athletes — and even with their laid back approach, Fox ended as the top-finishing D-III team.

Top Performances
Reese Borchert was the high finisher for the No. 28-ranked Bruin women in the 5k, showing off her hard work over the summer with a 23rd-place finishing time of 19:25.55. That time was good enough for the third-quickest mark of any Division III runner.

Freshmen Natalie Oathout and Lola Woodburn were next up, beginning their GFU careers with 32nd and 33rd place finishes, respectively. Oathout ended with a time of 19:33.92, while Woodburn clocked in at 19:46.69. 

Hope Bridge, Ellie Colquhoun, Marcella Leita, and Marilyn Green rounded out the top seven Bruins with a flurry of finishes in the mid-to-late 30s. Bridge placed 35th (19:51.33), Colquhoun 36th (19:53.84), Leita 37th (19:54.36), and Green 39th (19:58.20) to give the Fox women a fifth-place team finish behind D-I schools in Oregon State, Boise State, Portland State, and Portland.

On the men's side, Kellen Ruiz ran what Bruin head coach Mike Wilson called a "textbook effort", setting a PR in the 5k with his time of 15:55.11 — good for 17th position overall. Like Borchert, Ruiz's mark was the third-quickest among Division III athletes competing.

Next up was junior Benjamin Bourne and a gaggle of freshmen in Isaac Montanes, Ryan Lippert, and Westin Madden. Bourne was the top of the group with a 21st-place effort (15:58.97), while Montanes placed 23rd (16:07.70), Lippert finished 25th (16:11.98), and Madden ended 27th (16:12.98).

Closely following Madden was Jacob Shin, who set a PR of his own with his 28th-place time of 16:13.50. Freshman Jefferson Smith was the seventh man up for Fox, ending his debut run with a 16:15.40 and a 29th-place finish. Much like the women, the Bruins were the top non-Division I team, finishing fourth below Boise State, Portland, and Portland State.

Coach's Thoughts
"It was a nice little warm-up for the team," Bruin head coach Mike Wilson said, "We looked good! We were in workout mode, so we weren't too stressed about score lines or trying to beat anybody today. We were focused on what we needed to do to get a little bit better, and I think we executed our race strategy about as well as we could have hoped for late August. We have some depth and good strength on both teams, so it will be exciting to see how we progress over the course of the season."

Up Next
It will be nearly one month until the Bruins race again, when they travel to Tacoma, Wash. for the PLU Invitational on Saturday, September 20th. The first race is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.