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

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University runner Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) has been selected as the Northwest Conference Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts at the 40th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Castillo was the top NCAA Division III finisher in the Men's Cardinal 8K race, as he took 19th place with a personal record time of 25:05.0. He took 40 seconds off his previous career-best of 25:45.1, which he set at the Oak Knoll Loop Run earlier this season.

The only runners to finish in front of Castillo were from the University of Oregon (NCAA Division I) and Chico State (NCAA Division II) or were running unattached.

Castillo helped Willamette place third in the team standings behind the Ducks and Chico State. The Bearcats achieved a team score of 131 and finished 46 points in front of Christopher Newport University (Va.), which claimed fourth place.

In addition to Castillo, other WU runners in the top 25 were Daniel Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) in 22nd place and Jacob Shafi (Jr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) in 23rd place. Among scorers Castillo, Swanson and Shafi were 14th, 15th and 16th, respectively.

Willamette's cross country teams will run at two meets on Saturday, Oct. 18. One group of Bearcats will participate in the Brooks Invitational in Winneconne, Wis. Another group of runners will compete at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Portland, Ore.

The Brooks Invitational is set to start at 10:30 a.m. (CDT)/8:30 a.m. (PDT). The Lewis & Clark Invitational will get underway at 11 a.m. (PDT).