By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Olivia Mancl (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette University finished in 14th place out of 77 runners in the 5-kilometer women's race during the Bill Dellinger Invitational, at the Springfield Golf Club on Friday, Sept. 16. The meet was hosted by the University of Oregon.
Mancl completed the course in 17:55 to earn the second-fastest time of her cross country career in a 5,000-meter race. She recorded her top time of 17:47.9 at the 41st Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Oct. 3, 2015.
Hannah Swanson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) from Willamette took 35th place in 18:40, while Ami Boucher (Sr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) placed 60th in 19:50. Swanson contributed a score of 34 to the team standings, while Boucher added a score of 46.
Emily Evans (So., Anchorage, AK/South Anchorage HS) and Hazel Carr (So., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) reached the finish line shortly after Boucher. Evans placed 63rd in 19:57 and Carr was 64th in 20:10. Rosalba Cabrera (Fr., Whittier, CA/California HS) and Kyla Shade (Fr., Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS) also competed for the Bearcats.
Emily Weber from Oregon achieved the individual women's championship with a winning time of 17:26. She won by two seconds over Sierra Brown from Northwest Christian University (Ore.), who placed second in 17:28. Shea Vallaire of NCU was third in 17:31. Emma Abrahamson from U of O was fourth at 17:34, just in front of Hannah Kirkegaard from University of California-Davis, who took fifth in 17:35.
Willamette's top runner in the 8-kilometer men's race was Michael Montague (Fr., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) in 34th place at 26:08 in his first collegiate race.
Ross Enlow (Fr., Unalaska, AK/Unalaska HS) took 43rd for the Bearcats in 26:43. Ryan Morris-McDermott (So., Orinda, CA/Miramonte HS) was 45th in 26:45, while Robbie Melhorn (So., Bangkok, Thailand/International School Bangkok) placed 46th in 26:46. Ricardo Castillo-Flores (So./Jr., Hood River, OR/Parkdale HS) was 49th with a time of 26:50. The Bearcats' top five scores were 32-36-38-39-42.
Keith Carlson (So., Bainbridge Island, WA//Bainbridge HS) from WU placed 54th in 27:15. Shafer Wilson was 59th in 27:31. Matt Taylor (Fr., Arlington, WA/Arlington HS), Kellen Bulger (Fr., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS) and Jack Kobylka (Jr., Napa, CA/Vintage HS) also competed for the Bearcats.
The men's individual champion was Sam Prakel from the University of Oregon. His time was 24:36. U of O teammate Tanner Anderson also finished in 24;36, but was credited with second place. University of Portland runner Logan Orndorf was third at 24:43. Bryan Fernandez from Oregon took fourth in 24:45, while Fabian Thomas from Portland was fifth in 24:50.
Willamette claimed sixth place in both the men's team standings and the women's team standings.
In the women's standings, the Bearcats earned a score of 189 to narrowly hold off University of Portland. The Pilots placed seventh with a score of 190.
Oregon won the women's team title with a score of 39. Northwest Christian (Ore.) was second at 51, while UC-Davis was third at 75. Oregon State University placed fourth at 84 and North Dakota State University was fifth at 97. Following Willamette and Portland was Lewis & Clark College, which took eighth place at 230.
The host Ducks from U of O also won the men's team title with a score of 28 (1-2-4-10-11), but they claimed first place by a single point. Portland earned second placed with a score of 29 (3-5-6-7-8). UC-Davis was third at 101, North Dakota State placed fourth at 113, Northwest Christina was fifth at 163, with Willamette in sixth at 187, the U of O Running Club in seventh at 198, Lewis & Clark in eighth at 201, and Lane Community College in ninth at 202.
The Bearcats will run again on Saturday, Oct. 1, when they host the 42nd Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, Oregon. The action is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. (PDT).
