Conrad Places 3rd, Mancl is 4th, in Races at Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

SALEM, Ore. -- Nathan Conrad (Sr., Bothell, WA/Bothell HS) of Willamette University took third place in the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race, and Olivia Mancl finished in fourth place for the Bearcats in the Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race, at the 41st Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational in Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday, Oct. 3. Conrad led the Bearcats to second place in the men's team standings, while Mancl helped the WU women take fifth place.

The Bearcat men's team placed four runners among the top 20 finishers. Conrad recorded a time of 25:05.1. Yonny Castillo (Sr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) placed ninth in 25:17.9, while Patrick Loftus (So., Healdsburg, CA/Sonoma Academy) was 11th at 25:28.1. Jacob Shafi (Sr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) was 20th and completed the course in 25:52.1.

Also contributing to Willamette's team score was Keith Carlson (Fr., Bainbridge Island, WA//Bainbridge HS). Carlson earned 29th place in 26:04.3. Hunter Mathies (Sr., Moran, WY/Jackson Hole HS) was 46th out of 143 runners at 26:32.8.

Tyler Shipley from the University of Puget Sound won the Men's Cardinal individual title with a time of 24:33.8. Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski, also from Puget Sound, placed second in 25:01.0. Conrad was third and Mario Castillo-Urbina from Humboldt State University (Calif.) was fourth at 25:06.2. Fifth place went to Cristian Nazarek of Humboldt State, who crossed the finish line in 2508.2.

The Men's Cardinal team title went to Humboldt State from NCAA Division II with a score of 43 (4-5-6-1-3-15). Willamette from NCAA Division III was second at 69 (3-9-11-19-27). Seattle University, which competes in NCAA Division I, was third at 91 and Puget Sound was fourth at 111. Whitman College placed fifth with a score of 140.

Willamette was the top NCAA Division III team in both Cardinal Races. In the women's race, the Bearcats trailed two NCAA Division I teams and two teams from NCAA Division II.

Portland State University of Division I placed first in the women's team standings at 75 (1-8-9-18-39). University of Portland, also from Division I, finished second at 100, and Seattle Pacific University (Wash.) from Division II was third at 105.

Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.), also from Division II, placed fourth at 119. Willamette was fifth at 130, as the Bearcats edged out Northwest Conference rival Whitworth University, which placed sixth at 131.

Mancl was the first of three Willamette runners in the top 25 of the Women's Cardinal race. She finished the course in 17:47.9. Mancl reduced her personal record time by nearly 10 seconds, while moving up from 10th into 7th on Willamette's all-time list.

Taylor Ostrander (Sr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) placed 13th with a time of 18:06.4, as she missed 12th place by less than one-half second. Alyssa Reese (So., Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) took 24th in 18:23.8.

Hannah Swanson (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) in 36th place and Juliet Farnan (Sr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) in 53rd also contributed to Willamette's team score. Swanson's time was 18:43.3 and Farnan was timed at 19:01.7. Ami Boucher (Jr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) placed 64th for the Bearcats in 19:24.8. The Women's Cardinal race included 186 runners.

Amanda Boman of Portland State earned the Women's Cardinal individual championship in 17:30.9. Anna Patti from Seattle Pacific University placed second at 17:35.3. Kori Gilley from Humboldt State was third at 17:42.1.

After Mancl in fourth was Marissa Bartello from Point Loma Nazarene in fifth at 17:53.9. Bartello edged out teammate Alexandra Hernandez of Point Loma, who took sixth in 17:54.1.

In the Men's Gold 8-kilometer race, University of Victoria (B.C., Canada) was first in the team standings with a score of 34 (1-2-5-11-15). Spokane Community College (Wash.) was second at 109 and University of British Columbia (B.C., Canada) was third at 117.

Texas Wesleyan University placed fourth in the Men's Gold standings at 140. Clackamas Community College (Ore.) edged out Northwest Christian University (Ore.) on a tie-breaker for fifth place after both teams scored 193.

The men's individual gold title was won by Forrest Simpson from Victoria in 24:17.6. Tristan Peloquin, running unattached, was second at 24:34.8. Other unattached runners filled the next three spots, with Theo Hunt in third at 24:36.0, Joseph Horen in fourth at 24:36.7, and Robert McLauuchlan in fifth at 24:37.0.

In the Women's Gold race the team standings were topped by Northwest Christian in first place with five top 10 finishes for a score of 27 (1-2-7-8-9). Victoria was second at 46 and British Columbia finished third at 88. Spokane Community College was fourth at 126 and Oregon Institute of Technology placed fifth at 154.

Anna Connor, running unattached, won the Women's Gold individual title in 17:31.1. Alyssa Harmon from Northwest Christian was second at 17:34.6 and Sierra Brown, also of Northwest Christian, was third at 17:35.5. Jennifer Bergman, competing unattached, took fourth at 17:36.3, and unattached runner Carissa Galloway was fifth at 17:38.4.

The Men's Gold and the Women's Gold races featured runners from the NAIA, junior college and club teams, as well as unattached athletes. A total of 199 competitors participated in the men's race and 158 runners finished the women's race.

Willamette will compete again on Saturday, Oct. 17 with runners at the AAE Invitational in Winneconne, Wisconsin, and at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Estacada, Oregon.

The AAE Invitational, hosted by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, is one of the largest NCAA Division III meets in the nation. It will be held at Lake Breeze Golf Course, the site of the NCAA Division III National Championships, which are scheduled for Nov. 21.

NOTE:  Photos by Christopher Oertell for Willamette Athletics