By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Jay Chew (So., Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek HS) of Willamette University earned 12th place in the men's 8-kilometer race as the Bearcats hosted the Oak Knoll Loop Run on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Oak Knoll Golf Course. Chew was the top NCAA Division III finisher in the race. Willamette took fourth place out of eight teams with a score of 108.
Chew registered a time of 25:43.8 to conclude the race among the top dozen runners to reach the finish line. Gavin Grass of George Fox University completed the race about five seconds later at 25:48.0 as he placed 13th overall and trailed only Chew among Division III competitors.
The University of Portland won the team title with a score of 21 (2-3-4-5-7). Corban University was second at 49, while George Fox was third at 72, and Willamette was fourth at 108. Linfield University placed fifth at 118, with Clackamas Community College in sixth at 184, Portland State University in seventh at 207, and Umpqua Community College in eighth, also at 207 on a tie-breaker.
Robert Swoboda of Corban was the winner of the men's 8K race. He was timed at 25:01.7 as he won by 6.3 seconds. Lakelin Conrad from the University of Portland was second at 25:08.0 and Nathan Stein, running unattached, was third at 25:14.4. Jacob Hupke, also unattached, was fourth in 25:16.2. Brady Martisu of Portland finished fifth at 25:17.3.
William Hennum (Jr., Henderson, NV/Liberty HS/SW Oregon CC) of WU placed 25th with a time of 26:28.3. Also contributing to Willamette's team score were Adam Lewis (Fy., Glendale, CA/Eagle Rock HS) in 31st at 26:59.3, Julien Trobaugh (Fy., St. Louis, MO/University City HS) in 34th at 27:39.6, and Sage Soto (Fy., Kapolei, HI/Kapolei HS) in 41st at 28:06.3. Joshua Evans (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS) of Willamette finished in 42nd place in 28:09.8, just 3.5 seconds behind Sato.
The Bearcats will host the 48th Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, Oregon, on Saturday, Sept. 30. The action is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. PDT.
