SALEM, ORE. -- Michaela Freeby (Jr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) from Willamette University took first place in the Women's Cardinal 5K race in 17:30.15 at the 39th Annual Charles Bowles Invitational, hosted by the Bearcats on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Bush's Pasture Park. Freeby helped the WU women finish third in the team standings.

The Willamette men's team also placed third. Parker Bennett (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) led the Bearcat men by earning ninth place with a time of 25:06.94.

Freeby was about 20th after two-thirds of a mile as many of the 190 runners were still close together. Freeby held a slim lead over two runners from the University of Alaska-Anchorage about two-thirds of the way through the second mile. She pulled away over the remainder of the course to win by about 110 meters.

Joyce Kipchumba of Alaska-Anchorage finished second in 17:42.67. She was approximately two seconds in front of Susan Tanui, also from Alaska-Anchorage, who claimed third place in 17:44.51.

Fiona McKenna of Hawaii Pacific University was fourth at 17:55.27 and Ivy O'Guinn of Alaska-Anchorage was fifth at 18:01.32. Susan Bick from Alaska-Anchorage was sixth with a time of 18:10.04, as the Seawolves achieved a 2-3-5-6 finish on their way to a team score of 34.

Alaska-Anchorage was followed in the Women's Cardinal team standings by Seattle Pacific University in second with a score of 94 and Willamette in third at 119. The University of Portland was fourth at 125, Western Oregon University was fifth at 130 and Whitworth University in sixth at 139.

A total of 18 teams from NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III competed in the Women's Cardinal race.

Following Freeby across the finish line for Willamette was Taylor Ostrander (So., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) in 14th place at 18:30.28. Annette Marinello (Jr., Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) was 28th overall with a time of 18;53.43.

A total of eight Bearcats concluded the Women's Cardinal race among the top 50 runners.

In addition to Freeby, Ostrander and Marinello, other top Willamette finishers were Ami Boucher (Fr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) in 37th place at 19:10.97 and Juliet Farnan (So., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) in 42nd at 19:13.01.

Hannah Bressler (So., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) of Willamette was timed at 19:15:50 for 45th, while Iris Dowd (Fr., Portland, OR/St, Mary's Academy) ran 19:16.35 for 47th and Olivia Mancl (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) ran 19:18.24 for 50th.

Alaska-Anchorage won the Men's Cardinal team championship with a score of 30. Western Oregon placed second with a score of 140 and Willamette was third at 143. The University of California-Santa Cruz took fourth place at 154 and the University of Puget Sound placed fifth at 162.

Dylan Anthony from Alaska-Anchorage won the Men's Cardinal 8K race in 24:20.24 to start a 1-2-4 finish by the Seawolves. Isaac Kangogo was second with a time of 24:33.34. Brady Beagley of Western Oregon University took third place in 24:36.30, while Victor Samoei from UAA was fourth at 24:50.94.

Three of the next five finishers were from the Northwest Conference. Tyler Shipley of Pacific University was fifth at 24:54.7. Alan DenAdel was eighth at 25:03.02 and Bennett of Willamette was ninth with his time of 25:06.94.

Kit Kingstad (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) was Willamette's next runner to complete the race, as he finished 15th in 25:24.94.

Jacob Shafi (So., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) earned 28th place for the Bearcats in 25:59.15. Yonny Castillo (So., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) was 45th in 26:20.73 and Nathan Conrad (so., Bothell, WA/Bothell HS) was 54th in 26:30.87.

The Men's Gold 8K race and the Women's Gold 5K race each featured teams competing in the NAIA, as well as junior college teams, club teams and individual runners.

University of Victoria won the Men's Gold team title with a score of 26 (1-3-6-7-9). Eastern Oregon University followed in second place with a score of 104. Bowerman Athletic Club was third, also at 104, but placed behind Eastern Oregon on a tie-breaker. University of British Columbia was fourth at 119 and Northwest Christian University (Ore.) was fifth at 160.

Ryan Cassidy from Victoria won the Men's Gold 8K race with a time of 24:17.81. Paul Adams from Oregon Institute of Technology was a close second at 24:19.60. Theo Hunt, running unattached, was third in 24:34.6. Dylan Haight from Victoria placed fourth in 24:39.58, while Eric Alldritt from Concordia University (Ore.) was fifth in 24:42.90.

The Women's Gold team champion was British Columbia, which finished with a score of 22 (1-3-4-5-9). Victoria placed second at 70, while Northwest Christian was third at 94, Texas Wesleyan University was fourth at 157 and Corban University was fifth at 232.

Maria Bernard of British Columbia won the Women's Gold 5K race in 17:23.90. Jessica Mildes from Spokane Community College was second at 17:35.40 and Amelie de Fenoyl from British Columbia was third at 17:42.70.

UBC also took fourth and fifth place, as Maggie Woodward completed the race in 17:53.50 and Rhiannon Evans finished in 17:54.30.

Willamette will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Mike Hodges Invitational, hosted by Clackamas Community College. The first race is set for 10 a.m. (PDT) in Oregon City, Ore.