By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

CORVALLIS, ORE. -- A portion of Willamette University's men's and women's cross country teams competed during the Beaver Classic at Avery Park on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Bearcat men's team placed sixth in the team standings, while Willamette took ninth place in the women's standings.

Southern Oregon University claimed the men's title with a score of 28. Seattle University was second with a team score of 57.

Willamette's top runner in the men's race was Nathan Smith (Jr., Colorado Springs, CO/Air Academy HS). Smith finished 37th overall (27th among scorers) with a time of 26:16 for the 8-kilometer race. Sean Sharma (Fr., La Canada, CA/La Canada HS) of Willamette was 44th overall (32nd among scorers), as he completed the course in 26:25.

David Laney of Southern Oregon won the men's individual championship. He clocked in with a time of 24:21 to win by 16 seconds over unattached runner Anteneh Woticha, who was timed at 24:37. Ben Dejarnette, also running unattached, placed third in 24:38

The University of Portland won the women's title with a score of 53. Southern Oregon University placed second with a score of 81.

Stevie Gildehaus (Fr., Spokane Valley, WA/University HS) was Willamette's top finisher for the women's team. She took 47th place (42nd among scorers) with a time of 23:56 over the 6-kilometer course. She was six seconds in front of teammate Sarah McSweeney (So., Petaluma, CA/Casa Grande HS), who placed 48th in 24:02.

The individual champion was Brianna Anderson-Gregg, running for Eugene Health. Her winning time was 21:36. Theresa Hailey from the University of Portland finished second 10 seconds later at 21:46. Third place went to Kristen Mohror of UO Running Club, who completed the course in 21:47.

Willamette will compete at the Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31. The event will be held at McIver Park in Estacada, Ore., starting at 10 a.m. (PDT).