Cross country readies for regionals after NWC Championships

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The Pacific Cross Country ended their Northwest Conference season as they competed in the Northwest Conference Cross Country Championships last Saturday.

Expectations were high for both the men’s and women’s team as the men placed seventh overall and the women took eighth.

Head Coach Tim Boyce said he was happy with the results of both teams, but will look to build off this race for the upcoming NCAA West Regional Championship.

“I don’t think there were any negative aspects to the race. We had some health issues but everyone ran really well,” said Boyce.

Top runners included Sam Lee who finished just shy of All-Northwest Conference honors with a 15 place finish in the 6,000-meter course with a time of 23:33.63. Ally Shackelford placed 49th with a time of 25:00.42.  Kirsten Iwai was two places behind in 51st with a time of 25:02.93.  The Boxers’ next three runners all finished in sequence.  Jilinda Franklin finished 62nd in 25:32.36.  Shelby Kramer placed 63rd in 25:41.77 and Punneh Abdolhosseini placed 64th in 25:43.38.

On the men’s side Adrian Shipley was the no. 1 runner finishing with a 27:04.44 time in 30 place. Joe Deardorff finished in 32nd place with a time of 27:05.20. Following him was John Gillem who finished in 43rd place with a time of 27:29.04, John Cushman finished 48th with a time of 27:39.36 and Dan Flora placed 53rd at 27:46.25.

Boyce said he was also very impressed with both teams this year, citing the runners as the best he’s seen since he started heading the program three years ago.

“This has been a positive year for the team. Our numbers are strong and we’ve seen a great turnaround and strong improvements with our athletes,” said Boyce.

With a young team made up of ten promising freshmen Boyce said they can build on the program for the future of Pacific cross country.

Both teams are set to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championship. The men will be sending the top 10 runners and the women will be sending their top 7.

The race is set to start at 11:00 a.m., Sat. 13 at Bush’s Pasture Park in Salem, Ore.

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