Cross Country: Willamette Wins Men's and Women's NWC Team Titles

Willamette’s Batch and Zerzan claim individual titles.

Photo courtesy: Willamette University

TACOMA, Wash - Led by individual championships from Ian Batch and Sarah Zerzan, Willamette University won the men's and women's team titles at the Northwest Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Pacific Lutheran University Golf Course.

It was the sixth consecutive NWC title for the Willamette men's team, while the WU women's team claimed its fifth straight NWC championship.

Batch won the 8-kilometer men's race with a time of 24:30.70 for a 15.19-second margin over Harrison Wilson of Linfield College in second place. Batch set a record for the PLU Course. Zerzan took first place in the women's 6-kilometer race with a time of 20:32.66, as she won by an impressive 53.14 seconds over Emily Timmer from the University of Puget Sound, who took second place in 21:25.80.

Zerzan set the Willamette school record, the NWC Meet record and the PLU Course record with her victory. She eclipsed WU's previous record of 21:28.3, set by Danya Rumore in 2004. Zerzan's time was 55.64 faster than Rumore's previous record. Zerzan's father, Terry Zerzan, won individual NWC titles for Willamette in 1974 and 1977.

The WU women earned a close victory in the team standings, as they scored 50 points to hold of Puget Sound, which finished in second with a score of 54. Lewis & Clark College was third at 115. Willamette placed four runners in the top 12 and completed its team score with Ali maki in 17th place at 22:40.10. She finished seven spots in front of the fifth runner for UPS, Ali Garel, who took 24th in 22:48.66.

In the men's team standings, the Bearcats posted a score of 40 to win by 18 points. Puget Sound was second at 58 and Linfield took third with a score of 95. WU had its top five runners among the first 12 finishers (1, 6, 10, 11, 12). Josh Clough took sixth with a time of 25:00.01. The Bearcats' top seven runners all reached the finish line in the top 14.

The Willamette women's team is ranked #10 in NCAA Division III. The Bearcat men's team is ranked #15 in NCAA Division III.

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