HILLSBORO, Ore. – Bradley Kiltow turned in a banner performance in the men's race while Jennifer Torres Bermudez and Makayla Erickson were equally impressive in the women's race, highlighting a day of quality racing for the Linfield Wildcats at the Northwest Conference Championships Saturday morning at Killarney West Golf Course.
 
Linfield's women secured a fifth-place team finish – up two spots from a year ago, while the Wilddcat men placed eighth among nine teams, a one-rung improvement from 2021.

"Championship days are exhausting," said Wildcats coach Mike Blackmore following the meet. "Nine athletes competing in their final cross country championships leave themselves, their families and myself with emotions that are difficult to describe.

"I have no idea what the preseason coaches pole placed us, but the women's team had a great day. Everyone battled to the finish line and proved that we are a far better team than last year. The men came in with some health issues and struggled a little bit. They were in last place from the 2k mark right up to 800 meters left to go and shifted gears to move up a spot."

WOMEN
Running true to form, Torres Bermudez and Erickson were the co-leaders for Linfield's scoring quintet. Torres Bermudez completed the six-kilometer race in 17^th place in 22 minutes, 49.3 seconds, just a heartbeat ahead of Erickson, who was 18^th in 22:51.7.
 
Aiding Linfield's team score were freshman Mary Sturley, who rose four places over the final three kilometers to secure 29^th place in 23:45.2. Kaylee Delzotti was 32rd, clocking 23:47.3. Rounding out the Wildcats' scoring efforts was Abby Grebisz, who secured 47^th place in 24:54.1.
 
Also racing on Saturday in purple Linfield singlets were Holly Riley, 54^th in 25:18.1, Anna Frazier, 60^th in 25:34.0, Amber Chaffee, 67^th in 26:13.2, and Emma Brundage, 68^th in 26:21.5.
 
MEN
Kiltow continued his late-season surge by placing 21^st over the eight-kilometer circuit in 25:28.7. The Linfield sophomore sat in 47^th place after the first three quarters of a kilometer, but he began steadily surpassing runners from there.
 
Fellow Wildcat Alex Oathout was close behind Kiltow, crossing the finish line in 25:45.9, good for 29^th place. Kai Szostak took 55^th place in 27:15.3 while Calvin Cahill was 59^th in 27:35.1. Evan Kern turned in the final points for Linfield, ending in 70^th place in 28:22.1.
 
Also competing for Linfield were John Christian, 72^nd in 28:35.0, Conner Dooley, 73^rd in 28:38.1, Brendan Perez, 74^th in 28:50.0, Juston Rogers, 79^th in 29:39.4, and Trent Furhiman, 79^th in 34:16.2.
 
AHEAD
Linfield's women locked up an invitation to compete as a team at the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships in two weeks at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in Spokane, Washington. Kiltow and Oathout also qualified to compete in the men's race while Cahill remains an possible at-large selection.