PORTLAND, Ore.- The Boxer Cross Country teams started off their season this Thursday and Friday. The squad split and sent most runners to the Lewis & Clark Chase Race on Thursday night and then sent five other runners to the Portland State Viking Rustbuster Invite on Friday. 
 
It was an exciting opener with several Boxers accruing course and lifetime PRs. The L&C race was 3 miles for women and 4 miles for men. The Viking Rustbuster was a 5k for women and a 6k for men. 
 
Top Performers 

Carlos Masuko led the men's team at the LC race on Thursday, running more than a minute faster than he did on this course last fall. Masuko finished in 22nd place with a time of 21:51.0. Teammate Reese Yamamoto also had over a minute improvement from last fall, coming in second for the Boxers in a time of 22:12.0, good for 58th place. Will Wada competed the next day at the Viking Rustbuster and took 23rd place with a time of 19:58.46. 

Cris Brethower led the women's team at the LC race, placing 23rd in a time of 19:58.46. At the Viking Rustbuster, Annie Berry led the ladies with her 8th place finish and time of 19:01.6. Elizabeth Bradley came in behind Berry with a 16th place finish and time of 19:23.0.
 
 
By The Numbers

Berry's performance earns her a spot on Pacific's Top 25 Performance List for the women's cross country 5k. She now sits 11th on that list with her 19:01.6 finish from today. 
 
What It Means 

The season opener for cross country is traditionally made up of under-distance races. It's used primarily as a gauge for teams before heading into regular season competition. From this point forward, both teams will race full-length courses; the men will compete over 8k and the women over 6k. 
 
 
Up Next 
The Boxers head to Tacoma in two weeks time for the Pacific Lutheran University Invitational. 

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