TACOMA, Wash. -- In their first 8k and 6k of the season, the men and women of Pacific University had a spectacular day.

Hosted by Pacific Lutheran University at Meadows Disc Golf Course, the collegiate athletes ran the 2k loops on a beautiful sunny day. Out of 11 teams, the women placed 7th with 164 points, only 11 points out of 5th place. The ladies placed in front of conference foe and meet host, Pacific Lutheran, and was just behind Whitman and Puget Sound.

On the men's side, the Boxers placed 8th out of 12 teams with a point total of 235, in front of meet host Pacific Lutheran and just 46 points from 7th place, Puget Sound.

"For the past month, we had talked about preparing for the team's first 6k and 8k of the season," Pacific head coach Christine Eckstein stated. "My main goal of what I wanted them to understand was to take their first race at this distance out conservatively and be smart. I would rather them hold back just a little bit, than go out too fast and burn out half way through the race. For the men this is a big jump from high school and we have a lot of freshmen on this team. So it was very important that they understood how to run this race for the first time. For both team's, our upperclassman did a fantastic job talking to the underclassman and giving them advice on how to run their first 6k/8k of the season. I felt like we executed that plan beautifully and we are looking to see some good improvements throughout the rest of the season." 

Junior Megan Feitz had a big time personal record of 41 seconds from her sophomore season at Cerritos College. In a competitive field, Feitz finished in 11th place with a time of 23:07.8, which now moves her into 17th on the all-time top 25 women's 6k marks. Senior Cris Brethower stayed close to Feitz most of the race and finished in 24th place with a time of 23:41.7. In her best race of the season so far, Junior Alena Krull was just 36 seconds behind teammate Brethower. Krull finished in 39th place with a time of 24:17.3.

Sophomore Morgan Boddy had a strong race coming in at 25:51.3, placing 66th overall. Freshman Lauren Ortega had a solid first 6k placing 72nd and crossing the line in 26:16.7. After battling an injury the first half the season, sophomore Jordan Lucero has put together some fantastic races. Lucero finished with a time of 26:30.2, which was good for 80th place.

For the second straight meet, freshman Peyton Fisher led the way for the Boxer men. Coming in with a 8k debut of 26:43.5, Fisher placed 46th in a stacked field. Close on his heels was freshman teammate Jacob Tilden, who ran a 26:55.4, which placed him at 55th.

On his breakthrough race of the season, senior Reese Yamamoto was only 3 seconds off his personal record, crossing the finish line in 27:20.6. Yamamoto was not far behind teammate Tilden, finishing in 66th place overall. Just 3 seconds behind Yamamoto was freshman Tate Woodward, who finished with a time of 27:23.3 and secured 69th place.

Freshman Robert Lydon had another solid race completing the course in 27:50.2, which was good for 86th place. Freshman Jett Cowee looked smooth and strong coming through with a time of 28:40.7, which placed him at 102nd. Just behind Cowee in 105th place was senior Kadyn Eves, who continues to have the season of his life, setting another personal record by 13 seconds, running a 28:42.5.

Sophomore Kyle Woodcock also set a 13 second personal record with a time of 29:01.3. Woodcock placed just behind teammates Cowee and Eves, in 111th place. Freshman Noah Wakabayashi had another outstanding race, crossing the line in 29:22.10, placing him at 119th. Sophomore Preston Graham came in at 126th place with a time of 29:47.2.

Only a couple places behind Graham was senior Carlos Masuke. Masuko placed 128th with a time of 29:54.7. Teammates Jevin Lim and Ananda O'Neill finished back to back. Lim, a sophomore from Alaska, finished in a time of 30:14.6, which was good for 132nd place. Freshman O'Neill, in only his second cross country race ever, placed 133rd with a time of 30:17.1. Rounding out the men's team finishers was junior Dylan Todd, who completed the 8k course in a time of 31:49.9, which put him at 138th place.

Next: The Boxers cross country teams will have a weekend off before heading to Willamette University for the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 5th. The race will be held at McCulloch Stadium/Bush Park. Men race the 8k at 9:30 a.m. and women race the 5k at 10:20 a.m.

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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