McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- The George Fox cross country team kicked off their season with a tune-up at the Linfield Harrier Classic where multiple athletes recorded personal bests; the men finished sixth place, while the women finished the meet in fifth place. 

Top Performances
While some of the top runners for the Bruins took the opening day off, several others got all-important practice. For the Men's 6000m, Carson Stockwell led the charge for the Bruins with a 20:04.3, the junior already recording a personal best in the early season. Sophomores Westin Madden and Drew Baker followed not long after with times of 20:12.4 and 20:20.5, respectively. 

Crossing the finish line in a tie was Isaac Davenport and Makai Peak; both runners recorded a 20:24.4 along with a personal best. Issac Montanes clocked in a 20:26.0, while Zayden Aspey — only seconds behind — had a 20:33.3 to round off the Bruins top seven runners. 

Next up was the Women's 4000m where the top two runners for the Lady Bruins achieved a personal best. First up was Reese Borchert with a 14:56.3; she was quickly followed by Marcella Leita who crossed the finish line at 15:11.4. Clocking in a 15:26.1, Alana Rebar was the third finisher for GFU before Owyhee Harguess ended not far behind, 15:29.3. 

Only milliseconds behind Harguess was Claire Matthews, who recorded a time of 15:30.8. Natalie Oathout came next with a 15:39.5 before Lola Woodburn completed the event for Fox with 15:40.1 — a personal best for the sophomore. 

Overall, Portland placed first for the Men's 6000m with a score of 15; the university also had Adam Lippe who captured first with a time of 17:51.4. As for the Women's 4000m, D-I university Oregon State claimed the top spot with a 15. Saige Brook from OSU recorded a 13:22.6 and a personal best. 

Coach's Thoughts
"I'm pretty happy with our effort overall," Bruin head coach Mike Wilson said, "We were in workout mode and, for the most part, we did what we were hoping to do with the effort, namely be overly patient early and get after it late. We moved up well through the field after intentionally starting way back, and I think a lot of our younger runners were able to walk away with some new tactical concepts. Really nice stuff from the group as a whole. Now on to PLU."

What Happens Next
The Bruins look to continue to improve in the early season as they travel to Tacoma, Wash. for the Pacific Lutheran Invitational on Saturday, September 9. Start times for the meet are still to be determined.