Bearcat Men Finish 3rd, Women are 6th, at Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University's Olivia Mancl (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) took third place in the Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race, and the Bearcat men's team placed three runners among the top 30 in the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race at the 42nd annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational in Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday, Oct. 1. Willamette took third place in the men's team standings, while Mancl helped the WU women take sixth place.

Ryan Morris-McDermott (So., Orinda, CA/Miramonte HS) was the Bearcats' top finisher in the men's race, recording a time of 25:30.8 to finish 19th. Keith Carlson (So., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) placed 27th in 25:45.2, while Patrick Loftus (Jr., Healdsburg, CA/Sonoma Academy) was 28th at 25:46.5.

Also contributing to Willamette's team score was Ricardo Castillo-Flores (So./Jr., Hood River, OR/Parkdale HS), who earned 38th place in 26:01.7. Michael Montague (Fr., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) finished a fraction of a second behind Castillo-Flores, completing the course in 26:01.9. A total of 167 runners competed in the Men's Cardinal race.

The University of Portland, ranked #7 in this week's NCAA Division I poll, swept the top three places in the race.  Brady Johnson won the Men's Cardinal individual title with a time of 24:15.7, just edging out teammate Logan Orndorf, who finished with an identical time. Joe Horen placed third for the Pilots with a time of 24:38.4. Brad Hodkinson from Pacific Lutheran University was fourth at 24:51.8. Fifth place went to Fabian Tomas, another Portland runner, who crossed the finish line in 24:57.0.

The Men's Cardinal team title went to the University of Portland with a score of 23 (1-2-3-5-12). New Mexico State University, another NCAA Division I program, was second at 87 (10-14-15-21-27). Willamette, the top NCAA Division III team in the race, was third at 129, placing ahead of Division I Portland State University, which finished fourth at 164. NCAA Division II Western Oregon University placed fifth with a score of 166.

In the Women's Cardinal race, Portland also placed first in the team standings at 87 (2-12-21-22-30). New Mexico State finished second at 96, and Portland State was third at 100.

Whitworth University placed fourth at 144, and Central Washington University was fifth at 175.  The Division II Wildcats just edged out Willamette in the team standings, as the Bearcats placed sixth at 178.

Mancl was the first of three Willamette runners in the top 30 of the Women's Cardinal race, finishing the course in 17:39.7 and setting a new personal record. Mancl reduced the time she recorded at last year's Bowles Invitational (17.47.9) by nearly eight full seconds.

Hannah Swanson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) placed 11th with a time of 18:20.9, and Ami Boucher (Sr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) took 28th in 18:44.6.

Hazel Carr (So., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) in 64th place and Emily Evans (So., Anchorage, AK/South Anchorage HS) in 77th also contributed to Willamette's team score. Carr's time was 19:24.2 and Evans finished 19:40.7. The Women's Cardinal race included 189 runners.

Shannon Porter of NCAA Division II Saint Martin's University earned the Women's Cardinal individual championship with a time of 17:06.7. The University of Portland's Mathilde Sagnes placed second at 17:31.8. Mancl, the top NCAA Division III finisher in the race, placed third, well ahead of Whitworth University's Kayla Leland, who completed the course in 17:50.6.  Dorothy O'Donnell of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, another NCAA Division II program, took fifth in 17:57.8.

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 207 competitors participated in the men's race and 165 runners finished the women's race.

In the Men's Gold 8-kilometer race, University of British Columbia (B.C., Canada) was first in the team standings with a score of 39 (1-5-8-11-14). The University of Victoria (B.C., Canada) was second at 76, and Biola University (Calif.) was third at 117.

Eastern Oregon University placed fourth in the Men's Gold standings at 146, and the Oregon Institute of Technology took fifth place at 149.

The men's individual gold title was won by Austin Tamagno, running unattached, in 24:31.4. Other unattached runners filled three of the next four spots, with Levi Thomet in second at 24:32.6, Jackson Mestler in third at 24:34.2, and Jackson Baker in fifth at 24:49.5. Jesse Hooten, running for UBC, placed fourth at 24:40.0.

In the Women's Gold race, the team standings were topped by Northwest Christian in first place. The Beacons achieved three top 10 finishes for a score of 42 (1-4-7-13-17). Biola was second at 51, and British Columbia finished third at 54. Victoria was fourth at 92, and Oregon Tech placed fifth at 120.

Sierra Brown from Northwest Christian won the Women's Gold individual title in 17:32.4. Kellian Hunt, running unattached, was second at 17:33.9, ahead of Lyndee Dawson and Emily Ransom, both of Biola, who placed third and fourth. Dawson completed the course in 17:39.9, while Ransom timed out at 17:40.5. Shea Vallaire from Northwest Christian was fifth at 17:41.7.

Willamette will compete again on Saturday, Oct. 15, sending runners to both the UW-Oshkosh Invitational in Winneconne, Wisconsin -- one of the largest NCAA Division III meets in the nation -- and to the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Estacada, Oregon.