Freeby Places Third, Bennett is 21st, at Brooks Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

WINNECONNE, WIS. -- Michaela Freeby (Jr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) ran a personal record time of 21:27.33 to finish in third place over the 6-kilometer course while leading Willamette University to eighth place in the women's team standings at the Brooks Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19. Freeby moved into third on Willamette's all-time list for 6K races.

Parker Bennett (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) of Willamette placed 21st in the men's 8-kilometer race with a time of 25:09.34, as the Bearcats placed 12th in the men's team standings.

The meet, which featured approximately 1,200 runners, including many of the top NCAA Division III teams in the nation, was hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at the Lake Breeze Golf Course. A total of 509 runners finished the women's race, while 566 athletes completed the men's race.

Freeby led a very strong showing by the Bearcats, who placed three runners in the top 25 of the women's race. In addition to Freeby, WU's top finishers were Taylor Ostrander (So., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) in 13th place at 22:11.63 and Olivia Mancl (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) in 23rd place at 22:29.09.

Amy Boucher (Fr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) of WU placed 90th with a time of 23:22.56. Hannah Bressler (So., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) finished 120th and was timed at 23:37.48. Juliet Farnan (So., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) was 132nd in 23:42.46.

Bennett and two other Bearcats earned finishes in the top 100 in the men's race. Kit Kingstad (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) placed 53rd after registering a time of 25:37.79. Nathan Conrad (So., Bothell, WA/Bothell HS) reached the finish line in 25:56.25 and was 85th overall.

Jacob Shafi (So., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) of Willamette was 133rd in 26:21.72. Yanny Castillo (So., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) concluded the race about eight seconds later at 26:29.46 and took 152nd place.

The women's team champion was Calvin College (Mich.) with a score of 71 (5-7-14-17-28). The University of Chicago (Ill.) was second at 120, Washington University (Mo.) placed third at 124 and Trinity University (Texas) was fourth at 126. Hope College (Mich.) earned fifth place at 180.

Sixth place was attained by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside at 207. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was seventh with a score of 215 and Willamette was eighth at 224. North Central College (Ill.) took ninth at 297 and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was 10th at 317. A total of 37 women's teams were included in the standings.

Chelsea Johnson from the University of St. Scholastica (Minn.) won the women's 6K race with a time of 21:04.10. Lucy Cheadle of Washington (Mo.) claimed second place at 21:16.74. Freeby followed in third place, while Catherine Young from the University of Chicago was fourth in 21:30.54. Cassandra Vince of Calvin garnered fifth place at 21:38.80.

North Central topped the men's team standings, which included a total of 37 teams. NCC placed all five scorers in the top 11 (1-5-6-10-11) to win with 33 points. Washington (Mo.) was second at 64 and UW-Eau Claire was third at 133. UW-Oshkosh placed fourth at 152, while UW-Parkside ended the meet in fifth at 223.

University of Chicago attained a score of 230 for sixth place, with Calvin in seventh at 234 and Wabash College (Ohio) in eighth at 235. The University of Wisconsin-Stout gained ninth place at 305 and Augustana College (Ill.) was 10th at 308.

John Crain from North Central earned first place in the men's race, as he clocked in at 24:20.74. Andrew Padgett from Washington (Mo.) took second in 24:27.09 and Jessop Keene of UW-Stout achieved third place in 24:32.95 Aaron Easker, competing unattached, was fourth at 24:41.22, as he edged out Kevin Sparks from Washington (Mo.), who placed fifth at 24:41.46.

Willamette will compete at the Northwest Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Spokane, Wash. The action is set to get underway at 10 a.m. (PDT).