SALEM, Ore. --- Linfield cross country hosted the annual George Oja Invitational on Saturday morning at the Oak Knoll Golf Course, where the Wildcats set six personal-bests and one season-best. Mya Budzik and CJ Brindeiro led the two Linfield teams, each running their fastest races of the season.
 
"I was very impressed with how the team competed today. They've been looking forward to this race all season and each of our finishers came away with season bests, with the majority of them hitting lifetime PRs." Said head coach Chris McIsaac following the meet.
 
Budzik led the team the whole way, setting the pace early and remaining steady to cross the finish line in 25:09.3. For the freshman, she continues to be the team's front runner in her first season as a Wildcat. Jasmine Solso crossed one-minute after Budzik, also recording a personal-best, with a time of 26:10.3. For Liberty McElfatrick, it was a season-best of 28:24.9 on Saturday, the third 'Cat to cross the finish line.
 
Freshman Ximena Sanchez-Lopez was the third Wildcat in the women's six-kilometer race to record a personal-best time of 29:51.2. Junior transfer Mia McCormack was back in action, carding a time of 32:04.3. The Wildcat women's squad finished 31^st in the largest field at the George Oja Invite.
 
On the men's team, junior CJ Brindeiro was the first Wildcat to cross the finish line, running his fastest eight-kilometer time of the year with a 28:20.4. It marks Brindeiro's first time leading the team in his career. Freshman Finley Wodke broke through, running a 29:21.8 for the best finish of his young career in the purple and cardinal due to his strong finish in the final kilometer of the race. Freshman Orion Bretherton was back in action for a second-straight meet, setting a personal-best for his career, crossing in 31:54.0. Freshman Nakomis Rivera made his Wildcat debut in the home meet, finishing in 33:13.7. 
 
"I feel good heading into the NWC Championship meet in two weeks at PLU. We have been focused on continuing to improve throughout the season and I believe our team will have their best race of the season at that meet." Said McIsaac.
 
"We hosted a very successful meet this morning with over 850 athletes from 40 different schools. It was a perfect Fall morning for a competitive cross country race. It was fun to see everything come together and we are hoping to continue to grow it in future years. We had a lot of Alumni both competing and out supporting."
 
Linfield is back on the course in two weeks, set to travel to Tacoma, Washington, to compete at the Northwest Conference Championships. The 'Cats return to a familiar course, competing at the PLU Meadows on the Lutes campus earlier this Fall.
 
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