Cindy Nguyen – For the Review. The Linfield cross country team performed well at the Willamette Invitational on Oct. 3. The team finished in 12th place in terms of team rank, beating Lewis & Clark College and Seattle Pacific University in the process.
Some notable performances were made by senior Tyler Davis, who placed 36th with a time of 25 minutes, 22 seconds, and senior Marci Klimek, who finished 23rd in the women’s 6-kilometer event with a time of 18:19.
“It went well; we made lots of personal bests and seasons bests,” assistant coach Greg Mitchell said.
But it was senior Shawn Fisher who turned in the fastest 8-kilometer race recorded by a Linfield athlete on Bush’s Pasture Park course.
“I was really surprised when I figured out that I did that well,” Fisher said. “I didn’t even know about it until I heard my time from my coach.”
He landed in 11th place based on individual rank, pushing him ahead of athletes from University of Puget Sound and Willamette University.
“I was blown away by his time, very impressive,” Mitchell said. “He could be looking at the All-American status.”
His time of 24:39 was faster than any other NCAA Division III competitor.
“I don’t tend to be nervous before games; I guess I’m just my normal self,” Fisher said. “I don’t really over think about the race.”
The team endured longer and tougher workouts to prepare for this season.
“We all got to campus in early August and started training Saturday mornings,” Fisher said “We would drive out to the gravelly and hilly roads of Yamhill and just run these intense workouts.”
Linfield’s focus was to be prepared for the end of the season and concentrate on the conference and regional championships.
“We told them to do their best and treat the Willamette Invitational like any other meet because, in the end, it all comes down to doing well at the championships,” Mitchell said.
The meet resulted in Chico State in first place with Michael Wickman of Chico State placing first in the individual ranking with a time of 24:08.
The Wildcats head to Lakewood, Wash., for the Puget Sound Invitational on Oct. 17. Then, Linfield will prepare for the NWC Championships in Oregon City on Oct. 31.