SALEM, Ore. --- Linfield men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Salem for their annual showing at the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University.
Mya Budzik and
Marco Stroman led each team that had four runners cross the finish line.
Budzik led the Wildcats for a third meet this season, opening her race with a 6:20.6 split through the first mile. The freshman led the squad the whole way, crossing the finish line in 21:13.6, a season-best in the five kilometer race.
Jasmine Solso was the second Wildcat to cross the line, running her personal best time of 21:59.5 in the 5K race. The freshman closed with a final 7:14.3 split as the 232
nd runner in the large field that featured athletes from all three NCAA Divisions. Junior
Liberty McElfatrick also notched a season-best with her time of 24:43.4.
Ximena Sanchez-Lopez began the race with a 13-second gap ahead of McElfatrick, but soon dropped a few places during the second and final splits to finish in 26:34.3. Four 'Cats finished on Saturday morning, not recording a team score for the meet.
Freshman
Marco Stroman recorded the fastest splits throughout the race for the men's roster, coming out hot with a 5:25.1 opening mile, just six-seconds ahead of
CJ Brindeiro. Stroman maintained his pace for the majority of the race, as the top runner for the Wildcats, crossing the line at 27:13.01 to earn 188
th in the 333-runner field.
Brindeiro continues to be solidified in the two-role for the Wildcats, as he lost steam towards the end of the eight-kilometer race. The junior's time of 28.20.6 fell just over one-minute behind Stroman.
Finley Wodke turned in a time of 31-minutes flat (31:00.58), with a 6:55.8 second split. Closing out the lineup was freshman
Orion Bretherton who made his first appearance of the season, finishing in 36:25.22.
The men's squad eyes the return of a fifth Wildcat ahead of the final meets of the regular season in hopes of turning in a team score.
Both teams have a week of rest and recovery before their next meet in two weeks, serving as the annual host of the George Oja Invitational at Oak Knoll Golf Course in Salem, Oregon.
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