Willamette Wins Men’s Team Title at OSU Beaver Classic

Beavers win women’s race. Corban finishes second. Bearcats finish fourth.

Steven Millard and Audrey Squires Photo courtesy: Willamette University

CORVALLIS - Led by the efforts of Steven Millard and A.J. Packard, who took fifth and sixth, respectively, the Willamette University men’s cross country team finished in first place at the Oregon State University Beaver Classic Saturday at Avery Park.

The Willamette women’s team finished in fourth place, while host OSU won the women’s title.

Millard completed the 8-kilometer men’s course in 25:56, just nine seconds in front of Packard, who crossed the finish line at 26:05. The Bearcats placed all five scoring runners in the top 16.

Austin Knutson of Willamette placed ninth in 26:24. Julio Vieyra was 13th with a time of 26:36. Jason Ames took 16th place after clocking in at 26:55.

The Bearcats achieved a team score of 49 points in the men’s race to finish in front of Corban College, which took second with a score of 71. Mount Hood Community College was third at 117, while the University of Oregon Running Club was fourth at 124 and Southwestern Oregon Community College was fifth at 156.

Medalist in the men’s race was Jake Stout from the Greater Boise Track Club. His winning time was 25:04, seven seconds ahead of Sean Williams of the Eastside Track Club at 25:11. The fastest collegiate runner was Jarrett Ziemer of MHCC, who took third place at 25:34. Fourth place went to unattached runner Bobby King, with a time of 25:38.

In the women’s race, OSU scored a 57 to take first place. Corban was second at 74, with Mount Hood Community College in third place at 94. Willamette followed in fourth at 99, and Southwestern Oregon was fifth with a score of 194.

Individually, unattached runner Camille Herron won the event, after recording a time of 21:45 over the 6-kilometer course. Mount Hood’s Sheryl Page took second and was the top collegiate finisher in 21:48.

WU was led by Audrey Squires, who took 14th place at 23:35. Mara Engle of Willamette finished in 15th place with a time of 23:44. Other top finishers for the Bearcats were Clara Gonzalez in 21st place at 24:17, Melissa Ostermick in 22nd place at 24:27 and Molly Lewis in 27th place at 25:09.

The Willamette men’s and women’s cross country teams rested their top runners in advance of the Northwest Conference Cross Country Championships, set for Saturday, Oct. 28th in Tacoma, Wash.

The NWC meet will be hosted by Pacific Lutheran University at the PLU Golf Course. Race time for the men is set for 10:00 AM, with the women’s race scheduled to follow at 11:00 AM. Willamette is the defending team champion in both races.

Corban’s cross country team will take a week off before heading to the NAIA Region I Championships on Saturday, November 4th, in La Grande beginning at 10:00 AM.

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