Matteson and Piacsek Lead Willamette versus Linfield at The Repeat Mile Run

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Alex Matteson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) of Willamette University won the 8-kilometer men's race and Audrey Piacsek (Sr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) placed third in the 5-kilometer women's race, as the Bearcats competed against Linfield University in The Repeat Mile Run on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Bush's Pasture Park. Willamette was victorious in the men's dual meet, with the Bearcats recording a score of 27 to edge out the Wildcats, who registered a score of 28. Linfield won the women's duel, as the Wildcats earned a score of 24, while the Bearcats finished with a score of 33.

Matteson's winning time in the men's race was 25:37.4. He took first place by 37 seconds. Alex Oathout of Linfield was second at 26:14.4, and Gabriel Regimbal (Sr., Bellingham, WA/Squalicum HS) of WU grabbed third place at 26:24.6 Calvin Cahill followed for the Wildcats in fourth at 27:08.5. Jonathan Wallace (Jr., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) from Willamette was fifth in 27:18.9.

Willamette runners gained the narrow win with a 1-3-5-8-10 finish. Carson Herrick (Sr., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) placed eighth in 27:50.4, while Milo Greenberg (So., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) was 10th at 28:23.5. Joshua Evans (Fy., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS) took 11th place at 28:33.6 and Ian Curtis (Sr., Eugene, OR/South Eugene HS) followed in 12th place at 29:06.3. Antonio Barrientos (So., Dallas, OR/Dallas HS) was 14th in 29:22.8. Linfield's team score featured results of 2-4-6-7-9.

In the women's race, Jennifer Torres of Linfield achieved a winning time of 19:28.0. Makayla Erickson placed second for the Wildcats at 19:45.6, as she finished just 0.7 in front of Piacsek of Willamette, who was third in 19:46.3. Bearcat runners Dana Hamilton (Sr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) and Adelaide Kemp (Fy., Shorewood, WI/Shorewood HS) completed the race in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Hamilton registered a time of 19:47.6, just 1.3 seconds behind Piacsek. Adelaide was timed at 20:34.4. The Wildcats held scores of 1-2-6-7-8, while Willamette scored 3-4-5-10-11.

Melissa Duncan (So., Canyon Country, CA/Canyon HS) of WU placed 10th in 21:03.8. Leila Fischer (So., Wenatchee, WA/Wenatchee HS) was 11th after running the 5 kilometers in 21:07.7.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 30 at the Northwest Conference Championships. The NWC meet will be hosted by Linfield in McMinnville, Oregon, starting at 10 a.m. (PDT).