Independence, Ore. - Pacific's cross country teams competed in the first ever George Oja XC Invitational hosted by Linfield College at Oak Knoll Golf Course on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The women raced 6,000m and the men raced 8,000m. The women took 4th place out of 18 teams with 131 points, and the men finished in 20th out of 24 teams with 521 points.
Annie Berry and Henry Tierney led their teams in the 6k and 8k races, respectively. Berry placed 18th in 22:10.6, and Tierney placed 90th in 26:16.1, a PR for him. Berry was the first NWC runner to cross the line in the women's race. Seattle U. won the women's race with 46 points and University of Portland won the men's race with 34 points.
"Today's course was a new one for us, and it was a great course," said head cross country coach Bailee Krings. "Several athletes on both teams took advantage of good conditions and had significant PRs today. This was a good final race to prepare us for Conference."
Top Five Performers
WOMEN
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Annie Berry took 18th place in 22:10.6.
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Liz Bradley took 29th place in 22:42.7.
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Maddy Hubbs took 37th place in 22:56.9, a PR for her.
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Dina Aluthovs took 48th place in 23:16.1.
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Natalie Taylor took 50th place in 23:19.4, a PR for her.
MEN
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Henry Tierney took 90th place in 26:16.1, a PR for him.
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Reese Yamamoto took 144th place in 27:19.8.
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Aaron Brewer took 165th place in 27:49.0.
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Dylan Todd took 174th place in 28:04.5
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Spencer Sandberg took 175th place in 28:04.9.
How It Happened
Annie Berry ran as front-runner for the Boxers and was followed by Liz Bradley, Maddy Hubbs, Dina Aluthovs, and Natalie Taylor to make up Pacific's top five. There was a 69-second spread between Pacific's #1-#5, consistent with past races. Cris Brethower and Payton Betz rounded out the Boxer's top seven with their 70th and 91st place finishes, respectively. The women started in strong positions throughout the first mile, and then moved up as a group throughout the majority of the race. Maddy Hubbs and Natalie Taylor had significant PRs and strong races that boosted the teams performance. Hubbs and Taylor both moved up on Pacific's All-Time Top 25 List for the cross country 6k, with Hubbs now sitting at #13 and Taylor at #17. Liz Bradley and Annie Berry also had their best races of the season to date, contributing to the Boxers strong team score.
Henry Tierney ran as front-runner for the men's team, with Reese Yamamoto, Aaron Brewer, Dylan Todd and Spencer Sandberg chasing behind to round out the top five. There was a 45-second spread between Pacific's #2 and #5 runners, consistent with past races. Joey Grafton and Marc Manzano rounded out the Boxers top 7 with their 196th and 200th place finishes, respectively. Of the top five men, Tierney walked away with a PR and the following four runners were all less than 10 seconds off of their PRs. The squad was missing both Carlos Masuko and Jagjot Singh, but the team plans to see these men race and score in the Northwest Conference Championships.
Up Next
The Boxers will compete in the Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday, October 28th at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex, hosted by Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers AND @boxertfxc on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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