Bearcats Compete at NCAA West Regional in Cross Country

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Willamette University runners competed at the NCAA Division III West Regional in cross country on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Pomona-Pitzer campus course. The meet included the men's 8-kilometer race and the women's 6-kilometer race.

In the men's race, three Bearcats ran for Willamette. Gabriel Regimbal (Fy., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS) completed the course in 28:56.70. Alex Matteson (So., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) registered a time of 29;20.20, and Ronan Davies (Fy., Juneau, AK/Juneau-Douglas HS) finished in 29:33.00. Willamette did not attain a team score.

Willamette's top finisher in the women's race was Kyla Shade (Sr., Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS), who placed 65th out of 121 runners with a time of 24:43.6. Audrey Piacsek (So., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) was timed at 24:49.5 and Sam Smith (Fy., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) crossed the finish line in 24:59.9. Risa Shutz (Jr., Redmond, WA/Redmond HS) earned a time of 25:13.0. April Holland (Fy., Warrensburg, MO/Warrensburg HS) ended the race in 26:10.7.

The men's team title went to Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) with a score of 33 (1-6-7-9-10). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was second at 43, while the University of California-Santa Cruz placed third at 102. Occidental College (Calif.) was fourth at 132 and Colorado College grabbed fifth place at 172.

Ethan Widlansky of Pomona-Pitzer won the men's individual championship with a time of 25:00.7. Tucker Cargile from the University of Redlands (Calif.) finished second in 25:14.5, while Stevie Steinberg from CMS placed third in 25:16.8. Kyril Van Schendel of CMS followed in fourth at 25:17.8, while Miles Christensen was fifth at 25:23.4.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps prevailed in the women's team standings with a score of 52 (4-8-10-14-16). Pomona-Pitzer took second at 66, Occidental was third at 106, Redlands placed fourth at 132, and Whitman College achieved fifth place at 170. Willamette placed 16th in the women's team standings. The top two teams in each race automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships.

The women's individual title was achieved by Whitney Rich of Whitman, who registered a time of 21:12.0. Lila Cardillo form Pomona-Pitzer was second in 21:29.6. Helen Guo, also from Pomona-Pitzer, claimed third place at 21:40.7. Riley Harmon from CMS was fourth in 22:17.0. Maria Ramirez of Redlands placed fifth in 22:23.4.