By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- The Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational is a major event hosted by the Bearcats each season. This Saturday, Bush's Pasture Park will be the site of the 42nd annual edition of the meet, with four races involving teams from all collegiate divisions.
Former Willamette head coach Charles Bowles died in 2005, but his legacy continues at this special meet each year. Bowles was well known for his success, integrity and commitment to running. What was once called the Willamette Invitational now bears his name.
Action will get underway with the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race, which will feature teams from NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III at 9:30 a.m. (PDT). The Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race will follow at 10:20 a.m., and will include teams from all three NCAA Divisions.
The Men's Gold 8-kilometer race, with runners from the NAIA, junior colleges and club teams, plus unattached runners, is set to get underway at 11 a.m. The Women's Gold 5-kilometer race, which also includes NAIA, junior college and non-collegiate runners, is set to get underway at 11:50 a.m.
Overall, there will be 31 four-year colleges and universities (29 with both men's and women's teams), eight junior colleges, and one club team, plus unattached athletes. Most of the colleges and universities will compete in a men's race and a women's race. The exceptions are University of Hawaii-Hilo and College of St. Benedict (Minn.), which will be participating in women's races only.
This year's teams are from eight states and one Canadian province. The competing teams are from Oregon, Alaska, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Washington and British Columbia.
A total of 10 teams entered in the meet are ranked at the national level. Three more teams received votes in their respective national rankings.
In the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race, the nationally ranked team is the University of Portland, which is #7 in this week's NCAA Division I Poll. Several NCAA Division III men's teams are ranked in the West Region, with Willamette at #3, Whitman College at #4, Lewis & Clark College at #7, Pacific Lutheran University at #8, George Fox University at #9 and University of Puget Sound at #10.
Top runners from Willamette who will compete in the Men's Cardinal 8K race are Patrick Loftus (Jr., Santa Rosa, CA/Sonoma Academy) and Keith Carlson (So., Bainbridge Island, WA//Bainbridge HS). Loftus placed 11th in last year's race, while Carlson was 29th out of 143 runners.
During the 2015 season, Willamette's men won the Northwest Conference team title and placed 28th at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Two teams are nationally ranked in the Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race. They are University of Portland at#7 in NCAA Division I and Whitworth University at #26 in NCAA Division III. The West Region rankings from NCAA Division III are well represented in the Women's Cardinal race by Whitworth (#2), Willamette (#5), Lewis & Clark (#9) and George Fox (#10).
Leading the way for Willamette in the Women's Cardinal 5K race will be Olivia Mancl (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Hannah Swanson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS). A year ago, Mancl took fourth place and Swanson placed 36th out of 186 competitors.
Last year, the Bearcat women's team won the NCAA West Region title and took 10th place at the NCAA Division III Championships. Mancl earned second place in the individual standings at the NCAA Championships to receive All-America honors.
The Men's Gold 8-kilometer race features three teams ranked in the NAIA Poll released on Sept. 14. They are the University of British Columbia at #4, Biola University (Calif.) at #15, and Corban University at #24. Teams receiving points but not ranked in the NAIA Poll were Northwest Christian University (Ore.) and Oregon Institute of Technology.
In the Women's Gold 5-kilometer race there are four nationally ranked NAIA teams. Northwest Christian is ranked #1, with Biola at #2 and Oregon Tech at #6. British Columbia is listed at #13. Corban received votes in the poll.
Admission to the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational is free. Spectators are asked to be cautious near the course and to avoid interfering with participants. Although most of the course will take runners through Bush's Pasture Park, all of the races will finish inside McCulloch Stadium.
42nd Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016
Bush's Pasture Park, Salem, Ore.
Schedule of Events
9:30 a.m. - Men's Cardinal 8K Race
NCAA Divisions I, II, III
10:20 a.m. - Women's Cardinal 5K Race
NCAA Divisions I, II, III
11:00 a.m. - Men's Gold 8K Race
NAIA, Junior Colleges, club teams, unattached
11:50 a.m. - Women's Gold 5K Race
NAIA, Junior Colleges, club teams unattached
Participating Teams
(Men and Women unless otherwise indicated)
NCAA Division I
New Mexico State University
University of Portland
Portland State University
NCAA Division II
University of Alaska-Fairbanks
Central Washington University
Concordia University (Ore.)
Hawaii Pacific University
University of Hawai-Hilo - women
Saint Martin's University (Wash.)
Western Oregon University
NCAA Division III
Lewis & Clark College
Linfield College
Pacific University
Pacific Lutheran University
University of Puget Sound
College of St. Benedict (Minn.) - women
University of California, Santa Cruz
Whitman College
Whitworth University
NAIA
Biola University (Calif.)
University of British Columbia
Corban University
Eastern Oregon University
University of Great Falls (Mont.)
Multnomah University (Ore.)
Northwest Christian University (Ore.)
Northwest University (Wash.)
Oregon Institute of Technology
Soka University (Calif.)
University of Victoria (B.C.)
Junior Colleges
Clackamas Community College
Everett Community College (Wash.)
Lane Community College
Rogue Community College
Spokane Community College (Wash.)
Southwestern Oregon Community College
Treasure Valley Community College (Ore.)
Club
University of Oregon Running Club
