By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
WINNECONNE, Wis. -- Michael Montague (Sr., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) of Willamette University finished 68th out of 452 runners in the 8-kilometer men's race during the prestigious University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invitational at the Lake Breeze Golf Course on Saturday, Oct. 19. Montague was the only competitor for the Willamette men's team. The Bearcat women's team placed 17th out of 34 teams. Kyla Shade (Sr., Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS) was Willamette's top runner in the 6-kilometer women's race, as she placed 114th out of 419 runners.
The meet included 10 nationally ranked men's teams. There were seven nationally ranked women's teams competing.
Montague earned a time of 26:05.5. He was only 14.3 seconds out of the top 50.
Nick Matteucci from Washington University (Mo.) won the men's race in 24:43.1. Matthew Osmulski of North Central College (Ill.) was second at 24:50.3, and Joe Freiburger from Wartburg College (Iowa) placed third in 24:54.1. Ryan Cutter from the University of Chicago (Ill.) took fourth in 24:57.9. Alec Beutel, running for North Central, placed fifth at 25:04.1.
The men's team title went to North Central (Ill.). The three-time defending NCAA Division III champions attained a winning score of 46 (2-5-10-14-15). Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) grabbed second place with a score of 79. Wartburg placed third at 102, the University of Chicago was fourth at 105 on a tie-breaker, and Washington was fifth, also at 105.
In the women's race, Shade led Willamette with a time of 24:07.3. She was 11.4 seconds out of the top 100. Audrey Piacsek (So., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) was 129th in 24:18.7 and Sam Smith (Fy., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) took 146th in 24:29.0.
Also competing for Willamette were Molly Murphy-Brown, April Holland (Fy., Warrensburg, MO/Warrensburg HS), Risa Shutz (Jr., Redmond, WA/Redmond HS), and Dana Hamilton (So., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS). Murphy-Brown placed 166th in 24:37.1, with Holland in 172nd at 24:44.9. Shutz was 181st with a time of 24:53.7. Hamilton placed 233rd in 25:40.5.
Winning the individual women's championship was Cheyenne Moore, running for Oshkosh Alums, who recorded a time of 21:32.2. Pagie Lawler from Washington placed second and was the top collegiate finisher in 21:39.3. Carina College of Wartburg was third at 22:01.0, while Sophie Wetterson of Washington claimed fourth place at 22:10.8 Lexie Tremble from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was fifth in 22.12.4.
Washington (Mo.) achieved the women's team title with a score of 27 (1-3-6-8-9), as the top five runners for the Bears all placed in the top 10. University of Chicago was second at 90, and UW-Eau Claire was third at 100. Wartburg followed in fourth with a score of 115. Hope College (Mich.) earned fifth place at 203.
The Bearcats also competed in the 8-kilometer men's race at the Warner Pacific Classic in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday. Willamette will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 2 during the Northwest Conference Championships at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, Washington. The NWC meet is set to begin with the 8-kilometer men's race at 10 a.m. (PDT), followed by the 6-kilometer women's race at 11 a.m.