November 2, 2013
'Cats Race Well at NWC Championships

SPOKANE, Wash. – Five individual top-20 finishes highlighted Linfield's trip to the 2013 Northwest Conference Championships, contested on a dreary Saturday morning at the Downriver Golf Course.

The Wildcats finished fourth on the women’s side and fifth on the men's side. The women matched their performance from a season ago and the men improved by one position in the team standings. “We had some great showings by athletes on both teams,” stated associate head coach Greg Mitchell. “We just needed a couple of more athletes to step up to get us onto the podium. It was a pretty good day, but we just needed a great day from everyone to contend for the top spots.”

The Lady Wildcats huddle up at the start of the NWC Championships.

On the women's side, veterans Hannah Greider, Siena Noe and Katie Skinner posted top-20 finishes to lead the Wildcats to a second consecutive top-four team finish. All enjoyed career-best showings in the individual standings: Greider was 11th in 23:00.58, Noe took 13th in 23:03.32 and Skinner placed 16th in 23:12.14. As two of the top 14 competitors, Greider and Noe received second team all-conference honors.

Brooke Niemann and Madison Trowbridge finished among the first 35 runners to complete the six-kilometer course. Niemann clocked in at 23:39.16 to take 29th while Trowbridge was 35th with a time of 23 minutes, 44.84 seconds. As a team, the Wildcats totaled 104 points, just three points behind third-place Whitman.

Hannah Greider, Siena Noe, Marisa Kume and Katie Skinner battle in the lead pack.

Michael O’Neil and Alex Mangan paced Linfield in the second race of the day, taking 11th and 14th overall. O'Neil clocked in at 25:45.16 for his first career championship event, while Mangan completed the eight-kilometer course in 25 minutes, 49.21 seconds. Both were accorded second team all-conference honors.

Linfield's No. 3 runner, Calvin Howell was the 22nd competitor to cross the finish line after 26 minutes, 12.26 seconds. Struggling to keep pace with the leaders due to an injury sustained three weeks previously, Joe Gladow finished 38th overall in 26:48.02. Adrian Clifford rounded out the scoring quintet for the Wildcat men with a 46th-place effort (27:05.14).

“Calvin and Joe ran really gutsy races,” stated Mitchell. “Both of them were able to push through some injuries and help the team. They showed a lot of character.”

The men charge from the line at the NWC Championships in Spokane, Washington.