SALEM, Ore. -- Pacific's cross country women and men had another fantastic meet with 55 percent of the team achieving a personal record.

Hosted by Willamette University at Bush Pasture Park/McCulloch Stadium, the 49th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette XC Invitational saw almost 500 athletes compete. Out of 25 complete teams, the Boxer men placed 16th with 489 points, finishing in front of conference teams Pacific Lutheran, Linfield, and Lewis and Clark. The women finished in 15th out of 21 complete teams with 411 points.

"I'm very pleased with how everyone raced today," Pacific head coach Christine Eckstein said. "We had so many people who had a personal record, season's best, or were very close to a personal record. I think that speaks volumes about their training and dedication to improve, not only as individuals, but as a team as well. They continue to push the boundaries as a group and it's exciting to witness.

"I know we still have work to put in over the course of the next few weeks as we approach championship season and I'm very confident that this team is going to improve even more." 

Freshman Jacob Tilden was the first Boxer to cross the finish line. Tilden shaved off 19 seconds from his personal record set two weeks ago at PLU, coming across the line in 26:36.8, which was good for 119th place. Freshman Peyton Fisher was close behind in 124th place in a time of 26:42.3, which is slightly ahead of his personal record by one second.

For the first time in his career, senior Reese Yamamoto broke the 27 minute barrier by blasting his old personal record out of the water, running a 26:55.6. For Yamamoto, this is a 25 second improvement in a two week span and was good for 146th place.

Only 5 seconds behind was freshman Robert Lydon, who had a massive improvement in the 8k. Placing 153rd, Lydon came through with a time of 27:00.6, which was a 55 second personal record. Narrowly missing his personal record by only 5 seconds was freshman Tate Woodward, who ran a time of 27:28.8, which placed him in 180th.

Continuing his amazing senior season, Kadyn Eves took another chunk of time off his original personal record set two weeks ago. Finishing in 193rd place, Eves lowered his time by 54 seconds, with a newly minted record of 27:48.6. Coming in just behind Eves was freshman Jett Cowee, who placed 199th. Taking 41 seconds off his original best, Cowee clocked in at 27:59.5. Sophomore Kyle Woodcock continues to have a solid season, placing 226th and lowering his personal best by 7 seconds with a time of 28:54.2. Freshman Noah Wakabayashi finished the race in 233rd place and improved his personal best by 14 seconds to a mark of 29:08.8. Coming in right after Noah was senior Carlos Masuko. Masuko placed 234th and improved on his season's best mark by 44 seconds, running a 29:10.6.

After a bumpy start to his season, sophomore Preston Graham is gaining traction and is only 23 seconds off his personal record from last season. Graham crossed the line in 239th place with a time of 29:23.4, which is a seasons best by 24 seconds. Sophomore Jevin Lim finished the race in 30:24.4, which placed him in 261st. Freshman Ananda O'Neill placed 267th and ran a time of 31:02.5. Rounding out the men's team was Junior Dylan Todd. Placing 273rd, Todd crossed the finish line in 32:28.2. 

The Pacific University women also had a stellar competition with 3 out of 6 ladies capturing a personal record, and two other women were within 4-8 seconds. Junior Megan Feitz was the first Pacific Boxer to finish the race. Only 4 seconds off her personal record, Feitz finished in 18:52.0, where she took 55th place. Feitz has now moved up the Pacific University All Time Women's 5k List to number 13.

Senior Cris Brethower had a fantastic race, cutting 17 seconds off her previous best. Brethower ran a new personal record time of 19:19.7, which put her in 76th place. For Brethower, this now puts her in Pacific University All Time Women's 5k List at number 19. In her best race of the season so far, junior Alena Krull ran a new personal record of 19:48.6, which is a 22 second improvement from last season. Krull placed 110th overall in the meet.

Another big performance was sophomore Morgan Boddy, who finished the race in 20:38.8, which was good for 146th place. Boddy had a big improvement from last year's best 5k mark by 39 seconds. Finishing just behind Boddy was sophomore Jordan Lucero. Only 8 seconds off her personal record, Lucero crossed the line in 20:55.9, placing 151st. Rounding out the women's team scoring was freshman Lauren Ortega. With a collegiate personal record, Ortega placed 173rd with a time of 21:45.9.  

Up Next: The Boxers cross country teams have a bye week before heading to Milo McIver State Park for the Lewis and Clark Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19th. Start times for the meet will be 10:00 a.m. for the women's 6k and 11:00 a.m. for the men's 8k.

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