Willamette Places 4th, Grubis Finishes 7th at Millikin College Cup

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

DECATUR, Ore. -- Willamette University took fourth place in the team standings and Riga Grubis (Fy., Fairbanks, AK/West Valley HS) of the Bearcats placed seventh in the individual results, at the Millikin University College Cup on Saturday, Sept. 23. Ella Isaacson (Jr., Saint Paul, MN/Central HS) of WU finished 15th overall, while Abbey Staniec (So., Stockton, CA/Lincoln HS) earned 25th place.

The triathlon featured a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer cycle, and a 5-kilometer run. Grubis led all competitors in the run phase with a time of 19:52.

North Central College claimed the team championship with a score of 215. Calvin College (Mich.) was second at 158 and Trine University (Ind.) placed third at 154. Willamette's score for fourth place was 128. Millikin placed fifth at 118, just one point in front of Concordia University Wisconsin in sixth place at 117. Central College (Iowa) took seventh place at 101 and Coe College (Iowa) was eighth with a score of 37.

The individual title went to Hailey Poe of North Central College in just over one-hour and seven minutes at 1:07:14. She led a 1-2-3 finish for NCC, as Bethany Smeed was second at 1:08:54 and Charlotte Kumler was third in 1:09:46. Grace Huisman of Trine latched onto fourth place with a time of 1:10:03. Scarlett Schuth of NCC placed fifth at 1:10:31. Aly Barnes from Millikin followed in sixth place at 1:13.11 and Grubis crossed the finish line three seconds later for seventh place in 1:13.14.

In addition to Grubis, Isaacson, and Staniece, other Bearcats who competed in Decatur on Saturday were Paulina Pioszak (Fy., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS), Natalie Thomas (Fy., Jensen Beach, Florida/American Cooperative School of Tunis), Maya Ryley (Fy, Eugene, OR/North Eugene HS), and Alessandra Armenta-Lopez (So., Portland, OR/Gladstone HS). Pioszak was timed at 1:24.45 and Thomas completed the race in 1:25:06. Ryley registered a time of 1:27:59, while Armenta-Lopez finished in 1:53:26.

Willamette will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the West Regional Qualifier. The triathlon will be held in Springfield, Missouri.