By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Olivia Mancl (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette University has been selected a the Northwest Conference Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week for her efforts at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Mancl took fourth place out of 186 runners in the Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race with a time of 17:47.9. She lowered her personal record time by nearly 10 seconds and moved up from 10th to seventh on Willamette's all-time list.

Led by Mancl's strong race, Willamette earned fifth place in the team standings behind two NCAA Division I and two NCAA Division II teams. The Bearcats placed three runners in the top 25. In addition to Mancl, Taylor Ostrander (Sr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) finished 13th in 18:06.4 and Alyssa Reese (So., Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) was 24th in 18:23.8.

Willamette will compete again on Saturday, Oct. 17 with runners at the AAE Invitational in Winneconne, Wisconsin, and at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Estacada, Oregon.

The AAE Invitational, hosted by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, is one of the largest NCAA Division III meets in the nation. It will be held at Lake Breeze Golf Course, the site of the NCAA Division III National Championships, which are scheduled for Nov. 21.