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

WINNECONNE, WIS. -- Led by Michaela Freeby (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rec Putnam HS), who took 20th out of 500 runners, the Willamette University women's cross country team placed eighth out of 37 teams at the Brooks Invitational in Wisconsin. The event was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The event, which featured many of the top teams in NCAA Division III, was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Willamette took 11th place in the men's team standings, which included 38 teams. Nathan Conrad (Fr., Bothell,, WA/Bothell HS) was WU's top finisher in 52nd place out of 506 competitors in the 8-kilometer men's race. WU received votes in this week's NCAA Division III Poll.

The individual winner of the women's race, which covered 6 kilometers, was Allison Steinbrunner from Ohio Northern University. She completed the course in 21:24.50 to win by just under eight seconds. Christy Cazzola, running for the hosts from UW-Oshkosh, took second place in 21:32.24. Lucy Cheadle of Washington University (Mo.) was third in 21:35.41.

Ashlyn Mauer from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire finished in fourth place at 21:44.38. Chelsea Johnson from the University of St. Scholastica was fifth in 21:47.00.

Freeby registered a time of 22:42.94 to attain her 20th place finish. Theresa Edwards (Sr., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) of Willamette was 40th in 23:07.49. WU teammate Juliet Farnan (Fr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) placed 46th with a time of 23:16.38.

Amanda Tamanaha (Sr., Honolulu, HI/St. Andrew's Priory School) of Willamette was 83rd at 23:43.05. Annette Marinello (So., Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) finished 99th at 23:52.71. Willamette was ranked #34 in the nation in this week's NCAA Division III Poll.

In the women's team standings, Calvin College (Mich.) was first at 91. The University of Chicago took second place at 114, just one point in front of UW-Eau Claire at 115. Hope College (Mich.) was fourth with a score of 172 and Illinois Wesleyan University was fifth at 222.

Washington University (Mo.) placed sixth at 227. UW-Oshkosh was seventh at 277, just four points in front of Willamette in eighth at 281. Ohio Northern was ninth at 283 and John Carroll University (Ohio) was 10th at 372.

The champion of the men's race was was Noah Droddy from DePauw University (Illinois) with a time of 24:49.15. He won by 0.64 over Dan Kerr from Calvin, who took second place in 24:49.79. Jeremy Keiser from the UW-Eau Claire claimed third place in 25:04.62.

Aaron Easker from UW-Eau Claire took fourth in 25:08.54 and Dan Kerley from North Central College (Illinois) was fifth with a time of 25:08.66.

Conrad's team-leading time for Willamette was 26:01.76. He was 52nd overall. Parker Bennett (Jr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS), also from Willamette, took 69th place at 26:10.81. Kit Kingstad (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) was 111th in 26:36.04, and Yonny Castillo (Fr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) was 116th in 26:38.00. Ben Beeler (So., San Francisco, CA/Archbishop Riordan HS) finished just over two seconds later at 26:40.57 for 123rd place.

The men's team title was won by Calvin College (Mich.) with a score of 52. North Central College was second at 58 and UW-Eau Claire was third at 93. Washington (Mo.) was fourth at 127 and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was fifth at 163. Augustana College (Illinois) was sixth at 174.

University of Chicago took seventh with a team score of 221, while Wheaton College (Illinois) was eighth at 224. UW-Oshkosh was ninth at 268 and the University of Wisconsin-Stout was 10th at 359.

Willamette will compete at the Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Forest Grove, Ore.