By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- Leo Castillo (Sr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) and Michaela Freeby (Fr., Milwaukie, OR/Res Putnam HS), both from Willamette University, placed 11th in their respective races at the 37th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational at Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday, Oct. 1. Castillo was 11th in the Men's Cardinal 8K Race at 24:36.55 and Freeby took 11th in the Women's Cardinal 5K Race at 18:21.20.

Willamette placed fifth in the Men's Cardinal team standings. The Bearcat women's team took ninth in the Women's Cardinal team standings.

A total of over 900 runners competed in the meet, which is one of the largest collegiate cross country events on the West Coast.

There were a total of four races. The Men's Cardinal 8K Race and the Women's Cardinal 5K Race included runners from NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III. The Men's Gold 8K Race and the Women's Gold 5K Race features runners from the NAIA, NJCAA, and club teams, as well as unattached entries.

Barak Watson from Northwest Nazarene University took first place in the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race with a time of 24:03.64. He won by about 15 seconds over Matt Frerker from the University of Portland, who finished second at 24:18.48. Frerker edged out Isaac Chavez of Chico State by only two one-hundredths of a second. Chavez was timed at 24:18.50. The race included a total of 161 runners.

Castillo was Willamette's top finisher with a time of 24:36.55. He also was highest placing NCAA Division III athlete in the race.

WU's next three runners to reach the finish line completed the race in rapid succession. Ben Donovan (Sr., Minneapolis, MN/South HS) was 31st in 25:26.96. Parker Bennett (So., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) was 32nd at 25:27.89 and Kevin Aubol (Jr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellesnburg HS) was 33rd at 25:29.08.

Chico State and Portland tied for the Men's Cardinal team title. Both squads finished with 37 points, as Chico went 3-4-8-10-12 and Portland registered 2-5-6-7-17. California Baptist University was third at 117, with Northwest Nazarene in fourth at 129 and Willamette in fifth at 141.

In the Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race, which included 175 runners, Alia Gray from Chico State finished first. She recorded a time of 17:50.55. She was followed by teammate Amy Schnittger, who completed a 1-2 finish for Chico with a time of 17:52.45.

Illana Livstrom of Lewis & Clark College (Ore.) placed third at 17:56.79. Emily Thomas, also from L&C, took fourth at 18:10.81. Katie Spencer of Chico State placed fifth, as she crossed the finish line in 18:15.76.

Chico State won the Women's Cardinal team championships with a score of 43 with a 1-2-5-14-21 finish. Santa Clara University was second with a score of 72, while Portland was third at 85. Lewis & Clark placed fourth at 125 and California Baptist was fifth at 174. CBU finished just one point in front of Seattle Pacific University, which scored 175 and took sixth.

Freeby was WU's top women's finisher at 18:21.20. She was followed closely by Theresa Edwards (Jr., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) who completed the race less than one second later. Edwards took 12th overall with a time of 18:21.95. Kaitlin Greene (Sr., Pullman, WA/Pullman HS) was 53rd in 18:55.02.

Kristen Rodhe, competing unattached, won the Women's Gold 5-kilometer race. She reached the finish line in 17:25.81.

The University of British Columbia claimed the Women's Gold team title with a score of 69. Northwest Christian University placed second at 82 and Biola University was third at 96.

Winning the individual title in the Men's Gold 8-kilometer race was William Kincaid, running unattached, who completed the course in 24:01.56. Sawyer Bosch of the Boise State Track Club was second at 24:05.96.

The Men's Gold team championship was won by Concordia University (Ore.), which achieved a score of 85. Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) finished second with a score of 92. Southern Oregon University was third at 94.