By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Hazel Carr (Sr., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) won the women's race, while Keith Carlson (Sr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) took third place and Michael Montague (Jr., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) was fourth in the men's race, on Friday, Sept. 7 at the Ash Creek Invitational hosted by Western Oregon University. The Bearcats finished third in the women's team standings and were second in the men's team standings. It was Willamette's first competition of the season.
Carr's winning time in the women's 5-kilometer race was 19:30.6. She won by 24 seconds over Hannah Clarizio from crosstown rival Corban University, who placed second in 19;54.6. Kaylin Cantu of Western Oregon University was third in 19:57.1. Fourth place went to Sydney Nichol of Corban with a time of 20:00.5. Alexa Johnson from Walla Walla University (Wash.) was fifth at 20:10.1. Maggie Chapin (Jr., Buffalo, WY/Buffalo HS) of Willamette placed sixth in 20:11.1.
Western Oregon earned the women's team title with a score of 42. Corban was second at 45 and Willamette grabbed third place at 86. Concordia University (Ore.) took fourth place at 93, with Walla Walla in fifth at 110, Linfield College in sixth at 119, and Umpqua Community College (Ore.) in seventh at 184.
Joining Carr and Chapin on Willamette's team entry were Risa Shutz (So., Redmond, WA/Redmond HS), Dana Hamilton (Fr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS), and Kyla Shade (Jr., Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS). Shutz was timed at 22:00.0, while Hamilton finished in 22:05.6 and Shade completed the course in 22:26.2.
The men's 7-kilometer race was won by Dustin Nading from Western Oregon with a time of 21:02.5. Tyler Jones, also from WOU, placed second in 21:08.8. Carlson was third in 21:14.9 and Montague reached the finish line next to place fourth in 21:33.8. Justin Crosswhite of WOU was fifth at 21:36.8.
Western Oregon took the men's team title with a score of 21 (1-2-5-6-7) and recorded seven of the top 10 finishes. Willamette followed in second place with a score of 45. Clackamas Community College was third at 109, while Walla Walla University placed fourth at 119. Concordia was fifth at 149, Corban was sixth at 151, Clark College (Wash.) was seventh at 154. Southwestern Oregon Community College placed eighth at 204 and Umpqua CC was ninth at 211.
Carlson and Montague led five Bearcats among the top 20 runners. Alex Matteson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) placed 13th in 22:47.9. Robbie Melhorn (Sr., Bangkok, Thailand/International School Bangkok) took 17th in 23:03.2 and Carson Herrick (Fr., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) was 19th in 23:13.9.
Willamette's cross country teams will be back in action on Sept. 15 at the Augsburg Invitational in Bloomington, Minnesota. Augsburg University will host the meet at the Highland Greens Golf Course.
