MONMOUTH, Ore.- Coming off of a short week, both Linfield men's and women's cross country teams combined for nine new personal-best times, led by Marco Stroman and Mia McCormack who each placed inside the top-25. 

Friday evening's race was held at the Ash Creek Preserve, hosted by Western Oregon University. Nearly all of the returning Wildcats for this season competed at the preserve last season, in which almost all of them earned better finishes and faster times.

"Top to bottom, we saw some solid PRs. This was after a hard week of training and a weekend at our XC retreat, which resulted in little sleep and some sicknesses on the team." Said head coach Chris McIsaac following the meet.

The men's squad got the afternoon started at 5 p.m., placing sixth in the 10-team field behind a balanced effort Friday, totaling 188 points in the six-kilometer race.

Marcus Stroman led the Wildcats across the finish line, placing 24th overall in 19:08.7. It marked a new personal best for Stroman, who improved on his last PR that came just a week ago.

"We are progressing in the right direction. We're putting in the work that will pay off later in the season. I'm excited how the team performed today." Said senior CJ Brindeiro following Friday's race.

Freshman Teagan Randles followed in 33rd at 19:26.6, while senior CJ Brindeiro took 46th in 20:04.0; also new personal bests for both.

Jackson Fears finished 59th with a time of 20:39.6, rounding out Linfield's five scoring runners along with Vincent Andrews, who placed 66th in 20:59.5.

Logan Marquart crossed the line in 79th at 21:48.3. Darian Andrade finished 92nd in 23:27.0, while Joseph Nelson completed Linfield's eight-runner contingent in 98th with a time of 25:07.3.

The Wildcats finished with scoring placements of 20, 27, 39, 49 and 53 to secure sixth place, finishing ahead of four teams in the final standings, including Northwest Conference rival, Pacific. Six of the eight men had personal best times on Friday.

In the second race of the evening, senior Mia McCormack paced the Wildcats, crossing the finish line 25th overall in 19:16.2. Fellow senior Jayden Taylor followed in 35th with a time of 19:53.4. 

Both McCormack and Taylor were two of three Wildcats to earn new personal bests on the team, joined by sophomore Jasmine Solso.

Mya Budzik was Linfield's third finisher, placing 59th in 21:39.8, while Jasmine Solso crossed in 64th at 21:52.8. Freshman Isabella Manges completed the Wildcats' scoring five with a 72nd-place finish in 22:33.0.

"A bunch of us are working through being sick, but we didn't let that effect our attitude going into the race" said Isabella Manges following her first time competing at Ash Creek Preserve in her collegiate career.

Brenna Gamache finished 83rd with a time of 24:46.3, followed by Angela Hernandez-Gallo in 85th at 24:57.2. Senior Liberty McElfatrick rounded out Linfield's eight-runner lineup, finishing 87th in 25:48.9.

The Wildcats recorded scoring placements of 21, 30, 47, 51 and 57 to total 206 points, finishing nine points ahead of Bushnell in eighth place.

The 'Cats enjoy a weekend of rest before returning back to the Ash Creek Reserve on September 6 for the Mike Johnson Classic, also hosted by Western Oregon University.
 
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