SALEM, Ore. – Taking part in one of the biggest meets in the Pacific Northwest, the Evergreen Geoducks sent five runners to the 38th annual Charles Bowles Invitational, hosted by Willamette University and contested at Bush Park in Salem, Ore.
On the men’s side, Aaron Jones (San Bruno, Calif./Capuchino HS) led the way for the third straight meet, taking 167th place with a time of 28:05.90, just 45 one-hundredths of a second behind Calvin Edward of Eastern Oregon.
Alec Messman (Lacey, Wash./River Ridge HS) was the next Geoduck across the line, taking 200th overall with a time of 29:13.99. Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) took 224th with a time of 30:53.69 while Drew Hawley (SeaTac, Wash./Mt. Rainier HS) rounded out the Evergreen men with a time of 33:03.47 to finish 240th.
The Gold race was won by Matthew Clowes, running unattached, with a time of 24:09.43. University of British Columbia and Concordia (Ore.) tied for first place, each finishing with 91 points on the meet.
On the women’s side, Ashley DiCristina (Prescott, Ariz./Brandshaw Mountain HS) was the only Geoduck to compete, taking 189th place with a time of 25:09.62. Kimber Mattox took first individually, finishing in a time of 17:17.99. British Columbia took the women’s title with 64 points, edging out Everett Community College, who finished with 83.
In the Cardinal races, Lars Erik Malde took first in the men’s 8k with a time of 24:49.08 as his Portland Pilots also earned the men’s title with just 16 points, nearly 100 points better than second-place Boise State. Amber Rozcicha of Portland State won the women’s 5k with a time of 17:46.70 while it was Oregon State taking the women’s team title with 28 points.
Evergreen will take a two-week break before their next meet. On Oct. 13, the Geoducks will head back down to Oregon to take part in the Cascade Conference Preview Meet, hosted by Warner Pacific College in Portland, Ore.