Bearcats Run in Pre-National Races at UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Invite
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
WINNECONNE, Wis. -- Willamette University participated in the Men's 8k Pre-National Race and the Women's 6k Pre-National Open Race at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Kollege Town Sports Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Lake Breeze Golf Club.
The Men's 8k Pre-National Race featured only NCAA Division III teams with no more than seven runners per team. Team scores were recorded. The Women's 6k Pre-National Open Race included only NCAA Division III teams, while alllowing for an unlimited number of runners per team. Team scores were not recorded in the Women's Open Race.
Hazel Carr (Sr., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) of Willamette placed third out of 328 athletes in the Women's 6k Pre-National Open Race with a time of 23:40.40. She trailed only Molly Shepherd from Washington University (Mo.), who won the race in 23:26.02, and Katie Bacher from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was second in 23:35.78.
Carr was joined by teammates Maggie Chapin (Jr., Buffalo, WY/Buffalo HS), Emily Evans (Sr., Anchorage, AK/South Anchorage HS) Kyla Shade (Jr., Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS), Risa Shutz (So., Redmond, WA/Redmond HS) and Molly Murphy-Brown (Fr., Sandy, OR/Sandy HS). Chapin took 24th place in 24:18.35. Evans placed 36th after reaching the finish line in 24:34.87. Shade was 94th with a time of 25:29.29. Shutz recorded a time of 26:08.55 and Murphy-Brown completed the course in 26:10.61.
In the Men's 8K Pre-National Race, Willamette's Keith Carlson (Sr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) finished 16th out of 344 runners in 25:32.79. Teammate Michael Montague (Jr., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) took 44th place in 26:01.55. Alex Matteson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) of Willamette earned a time of 28:17.35. Cayce Reese (So., Louisville, CO/Monarch HS) ended the race at 28:50.03 and Kellen Bulger (Jr., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS) was timed at 29:56.56.
Willamette placed 33rd in the men's team standings. The Bearcats were one position in front of Northwest Conference rival Pacific Lutheran University, which took 34th place.
North Central College (Ill.), the two-time defending NCAA Division III champion, won the team title in the Men's 8k Pre-National race with a score of 41 (1-2-5-8-25). Washington (Mo.) was second at 97 and Calvin College (Mich.) was third at 127. Haverford College (Pa.) finished fourth at 144 and Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) was fifth at 277. The race featured 17 nationally ranked NCAA Division III teams.
Also on Saturday, three Bearcats ran at the Lewis & Clark Invitational at McIver Park in Estacada, Oregon. Audrey Piacsek (Fr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) and Jamie Smith (Jr., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) competed in the women's 6-kilometer race (3.73 miles). Piacsek was 35th with a time of 23:16.6. Smith registered a time of 23:56.3. Matt Ihling (Fr., Boise, ID/Capital HS) earned a time of 27:46.8 in the men's 8-kilometer race (4.97 miles).
The next action for the Bearcats will be at McIver Park on Saturday, Oct. 27 during the 2018 Northwest Conference Championships. The first race will get underway at 10 a.m. (PDT).
Big Moment of the Meet for Willamette
Hazel Carr ran her way to a third place finish in the Women's
6k Pre-National Open Race at the UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town
Sports Cross Country Invitational. Carr completed the course
with a time of 23:40.40. It was the second time this season
that Carr has placed in the top three. She took first place at
the Ash Creek Preserve Invitational on Sept. 7.