Castillo Repeats as NWC Cross Country Champion

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

WHEATLAND, ORE. -- Leo Castillo (Sr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) from Willamette University won his second consecutive Northwest Conference cross country championship by finishing first in a field of 83 runners at the 2011 NWC Championships at Willamette Mission State Park on Saturday, Oct. 29. Castillo registered a winning time of 25:02.52 for a margin of victory of 19.22 seconds.

In the women's race, Illana Livstrom from Lewis & Clark College took first place with a time of 21:50.04. Joy Shufeldt of Whitworth University was second at 22:00.44 and Theresa Edwards (Jr., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) of Willamette was third at 22:01.61. Fourth place went to Emily Thomas of Lewis & Clark in 22:08.42. Michaela Freeby (Fr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) of Willamette placed fifth with a time of 22:15.20.

Second place in the men's race behind Castillo went to Scott Gage from Linfield College, who completed the race in 25:21.74. Trevor Berrian of Whitworth was third at 25:26.33 and Alan DenAdel of Pacific Lutheran University was fourth with a time of 25:30.93. Aaron Jenkins of Whitworth placed fifth in 25:32.87.

Willamette placed second in the men's and women's team standings.

Whitworth won the men's title by a margin of four points, as the Pirates finished with a score of 45, while Willamette recorded a score of 49. Linfield took third place at 84, while Lewis & Clark finished fourth at 124. Pacific University was fifth at 138, Whitman College placed sixth at 145, Pacific Lutheran was seventh at 182, the University of Puget Sound took eighth at 189 and George Fox finished ninth at 208.

Lewis & Clark claimed first place in the women's standings by just two points, as Willamette put up a strong battle. L&C earned a score of 64 and Willamette achieved a score of 66. Third place was earned by Linfield at 74, with Whitman three points back in fourth at 77. Puget Sound was fifth at 120, Whitworth placed sixth at 151, Pacific Lutheran claimed seventh at 174, Pacific was eighth at 205 and George Fox took ninth at 225.

The top seven runners in each race received First Team All-Northwest Conference recognition, while those placing between eighth and 14th earned Second Team All-NWC honors.

In addition to Castillo, the Bearcat men's team had three other All-NWC runners. Ben Donovan (Sr., Minneapolis, MN/South HS) took sixth place with a time of 25:37.40 for First Team All-NWC accolades. Second Team All-NWC status went to Kevin Aubol (Jr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) in eighth place at 25:47.77 and to Parker Bennett (So., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) in 14th place at 26:00.96.

For Willamette in the women's race, Edwards, Freeby and Kaitlin Greene (Sr., Pullman, WA/Pullman HS) all received First Team All-NWC honors. Greene placed sixth in 22:25.30.

Up next for the Bearcats is the NCAA Division III West Regional, set for Saturday, Nov. 12 on the Pomona-Pitzer campus in Claremont, Calif. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (PST).