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

TACOMA, WASH. -- Willamette University runners Leo Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) and Kimber Mattox (So., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell Univ.) have won individual titles at the Northwest Conference Cross Country Championships, held at Fort Steilacoom Park on Saturday, Oct. 30. Castillo won the men's 8-kilometer race and Mattox finished first in the women's 6-kilometer race.

WU achieved the top two times in the men's race. Castillo took first place with a time of 25:18.66. He was followed across the finish line by teammate Stefan Redfield (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) in second place at 25:24.08.

Whitworth University recorded the next two places, as Aaron Jenkins earned third place in 25:28.09 and Kelen Darling was fourth at 25:28.60. Richie LeDonne of Lewis & Clark College was the fifth finisher with a time of 25:28.97

Willamette took second place in the men's team standings behind Whitworth. The Pirates recorded a score of 33 to edge out the Bearcats, who earned a score of 36. Whitworth ended up with four of the top eight runners, as Jenkins and Darling were joined by Trevor Berrian in sixth place at 25:37.55 and Nick Gallagher in seventh at 25:41.90.

Lewis & Clark claimed third place in the men's team standings with a score of 66. Linfield College was fourth at 116, with George Fox University in fifth at 160, Whitman College in sixth at 162, Pacific University in seventh at 185, the University of Puget Sound in eighth at 202 and Pacific Lutheran University in ninth at 240.

Castillo and Redfield earned First Team All-Northwest Conference honors for the Bearcats by finishing in the top seven. Kevin Aubol (So., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) of Willamette placed eighth and was named Second Team All-NWC. His time was 25:47.51. Ryan McLaughlin (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Milwaukie HS) also received Second Team All-NWC recognition by taking 10th place in 26:03.12.

Also contributing to Willamette's team score was Ben Donovan (Jr., Minneapolis, MN/South HS). Donovan registered a time of 26:09.08 to achieve 15th place. Other Bearcat runners in the top 20 were Brian Gnerre (So., Torrance, CA/Torrance HS) in 17th at 26:21.58 and Nicholas Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) in 20th at 26:32.83.

Matt Parker (Sr., Portland, OR/Lincoln HS) placed 24th in 26:49.88. Nate Smith (Sr., Colorado Springs, CO/Air Academy HS) placed 26th with a time of 26:58.77.

In the women's team standings, Willamette placed third. Lewis & Clark College won the women's team championship with a score of 43. Whitworth placed second at 73 and Willamette was third at 94.

Whitman placed fourth with a score of 100. Linfield was fifth at 113, Pacific Lutheran was sixth at 137, the University of Puget Sound was seventh at 194, Pacific placed eighth at 216 and George Fox finished ninth at 224.

Mattox won the women's race by just over 10 seconds. She completed the six kilometers with a personal-best time of 22:09.52, which ranks sixth on WU's all-time list. Joy Shufeldt of Whitworth recorded second place with a time of 22:19.93. Tonya Turner from Whitworth was third as she registered a time of 22:29.53.

Illana Livstrom placed fourth and was the first finisher for Lewis & Clark. She reached the finish in 22:40.57. Emily Thomas, also from L&C, took fifth place at 22:41.87.

Willamette's Theresa Edwards (So., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) achieved 12th place. She completed the course in 23:20.75. Mattox received First Team All-NWC recognition and Edwards was named Second Team All-NWC.

Sarah McSweeney (Jr., Petaluma, CA/Casa Grande HS) of WU placed 22nd with a time of 23:52.25. Amanda Tamanaha (So., Honolulu, HI/St. Andrews Priory) placed 29th for the Bearcats. Her time was 24:08.21.

The Bearcats will host the NCAA Division III West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13. The regional is scheduled to get underway with the men's 8-kilometer race at 11 a.m. (PST), followed by the women's 6-kilometer race at 12 p.m.