Willamette Runners to Compete at NWC Cross Country Championships

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University cross country team will be in action at the 2021 Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30 at Michelbook Country Club in McMinnville, Oregon. The women's 6-kilometer race will start at 10 a.m. (PDT), with the men's 8-kilometer race set for 11 a.m.

Willamette's list of runner at the NWC Championship includes three members of the women's team and six members of the men's team. Running in the women's race will be Audrey Piacsek (Sr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS), Dana Hamilton (Sr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS), and Adelaide Kemp (Fy., Shorewood, WI/Shorewood HS). The WU women's team will not receive a team score.

Piacsek has been Willamette's top finisher this fall, earning third place at The Repeat Mile Run against Linfield University on Oct. 15. Piacsek earned 29th place at the Ash Creek Invitational on Sept. 10 and placed 78th a the 46th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Oct. 2. At The Repeat Mile Run, Piacsek, Hamilton, and Kemp claimed third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively.

Competing in the men's race will be Alex Matteson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS), Gabriel Regimbal (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS), Jonathan Wallace (Jr., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS), Carson Herrick (Sr., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS), Milo Greenberg (So., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School), and Joshua Evans (Fy., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS).

Matteson has led the WU men's team this fall by placing first at The Repeat Mile Run, along with a ninth-place finish at the Ash Creek Invitational and 42nd place at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. During The Repeat Mile Run, Regimbal was third, Wallace placed fifth, Herrick was eighth,  Greenberg took 10th, and Evans placed 11th.

Fans attending the NWC Championships should be aware that masks must be worn whenever it is not possible to maintain 6-feet of distance from others on the course. Masks also are required inside the Michelbook clubhouse. Smoking is not permitted on the course, and possession or consumption of alcohol is prohibited.