Salem, Ore. – Saints Cross Country raced at the competitive Charles Bowles Invitational on Saturday.

 

For the women, 236 racers from 25 teams took to the 5k course while the men's 8k race included 288 runners from 23 teams. Carroll's women placed 10th in the field and 3rd of NAIA schools, just ahead of No. 18 Southern Oregon and just behind No. 22 Eastern Oregon. The men placed 14th overall behind multiple ranked teams from a stacked Cascade Conference. 

 

All the Saints' scorers on the women's side ran under 19 minutes 30 seconds with Ryah O'Dell the top placer in 62nd. She was followed by Jayna Boonstra, Nikki Nau, Amelia Mayes, and Faye Holland. For the men, Conrad Schruth was the first runner in 60th followed by Oliver Morris, Jack Jensen, Harper Churape, and Wyatt Ehredt to round out the scoring.

 

Mayes, Holland, and Highness ran cross country personal records. There were also many season's bests during the meet including O'Dell, Boonstra, Nau, Brewer, VanWestrienen, Ruff, Schruth, Jensen, and Churape. 

 

"We did a lot of learning in this race that we believe will help us as we move into the second half of our season," said Head Coach Shannon Flynn. "The athletes executed our process goals well, and it was fun to see them soak up the new experience on a fun, varied course. The competition and style were in lot of ways what we would expect at a championship meet, so it was a great opportunity to respond to and grow from that challenge."

 

Full results are available HERE.

 

A group of Saints will race next Friday in Billings, Mont. at the Conference Preview. Athletes from the Oregon trip will transition into a big training block before racing in 3 weeks at the Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids, Mich.

 

Follow Carroll Athletics on Twitter and Facebook and Carroll Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook and Instagram for race and season updates.