MONMOUTH -- The men and women of Pacific University's cross country teams had another quality competition on Friday evening. Hosted by Western Oregon University at Ash Creek Preserve, the men raced 6,000 meters and the women raced 5,000. Out of eight teams, the men placed fifth with 120 points, only two points out of fourth place. On the women's side, the Boxers placed fourth out of seven teams with 94 points.

"This meet was a very good showing for our men and women," Pacific head cross country coach Christine Eckstein stated. "We had about 85 percent of our squad represented this time around, with only a few athletes missing. Our teams showed grit and determination throughout the course."

Peyton Fisher had another stellar competition. The true freshman from Roseburg took a chunk of time off his last race by 30 seconds. He was the first Boxer across the line finishing in 13th with a time of 19 minutes, 16 seconds. In his collegiate debut, freshman RJ Lydon had a solid race finishing in 26th in 20:18.4. Freshman Tate Woodward set a personal record by 13 seconds since the Boxers last race two weeks ago. Woodward finished in 28th place with a time of 20:24.0.

With one of the most impressive races of the day, Kadyn Eves improved his personal record by 1 minute and 14 seconds. The senior from Molalla is having the best season of his career so far as he finished in 31st place with a time of 20:33.3. Staying very consistent, freshman Jett Cowee, finished the race in 35th place with a time of 21:01.0, only 0.6 off his personal best over 6k.

Sophomore Kyle Woodcock finished in 43rd place in a time of 21:15.4, which is a 12 second personal record from the first meet. Rounding out our top seven was Noah Wakabayashi. The freshman from Hawaii posted a massive improvement, dropping his personal best by 1 minute and 26 seconds. Wakabayashi placed 46th overall with a time of 21:29.6. Following close by was senior Carlos Masuko. In his first race of the season, Masuko placed 47th in a time of 21:37.0. Also in his first race of the season was sophomore Preston Graham, who finished right after his teammates in 48th place. Graham also had a personal record of 21:43.4, which is a 21 second improvement from last season.

Sophomore Jevin Lim finished close behind his three teammates in 53rd place and was just three seconds off his personal record, crossing the line in 22:15.3. In his first ever cross country race, freshman Ananda O'Neill had a fantastic debut finishing in 55th place with a time of 22.22.9. Junior Dylan Todd had a 59 second season best finishing in 63rd place in a time of 23:25.6. In his first meet of the season, junior Aaron Brewer finished in 68th in 24:18.6.

On the women's side, junior Megan Feitz had another solid race, finishing sixth overall in 19:16.9. Pacing with her teammate through most of the race, senior Cris Brethower was close by finishing in 10th place. Brethower also had a personal record by 5 seconds with a time of 19:36.0. In 24th place, junior Alena Krull crossed the finish line in 20:35.0. For the second meet in a row, the duo of freshman Lauren Ortega and sophomore Morgan Boddy once again finished back-to-back. Ortega had another strong showing, finishing in 33rd with a time of 21:17.15. Sophomore Morgan Boddy placed 34th in 21:17.9, only 16 seconds off her personal record.

In their season debuts, junior Naomi Sweeney and Jordan Lucero had a fantastic meet. Sweeney posted a new personal record by 1 minute and 24 seconds, with a time of 22:08.4, which put her in 41st place. Sophomore Jordan Lucero was right behind her teammate in 42nd place with a time of 22:09.5.

"Since our first meet, we made some adjustments getting off the line and I definitely think it helped our team with consistency throughout the race," Eckstein said. "We made moves down the home stretch, which showcased our speed. With our overall results, 8 out of 13 men and 3 out of 7 women had a personal record today. To me, that is the most impressive takeaway and so exciting to witness. I know this group will continue to improve as individuals and as a team."

Next: The Boxers cross country teams will travel to Tacoma, WA for the PLU Invitational on Saturday September 21, hosted by Pacific Lutheran University. Women race the 6k at 11:10am and men race the 8k at 11:45am.

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 on Instagram and Twitter.
 
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