SALEM, Ore. – Three Westminster freshmen posted all-time top-10 marks Saturday at the 51st Charles Bowles Willamette XC Invitational, with the Griffin men finishing 16th and the women finishing 17th.

Race Breakdown

Women's 5K

The Griffin women emphasized strong pack running technique, and their five scorers finished within 39.3 seconds of each other. Freshman Kaja Wilcox led the way, placing 115th overall in 19:44.1. Senior Haven Finley was right behind in 124th (19:55.2), followed by juniors Eileen O'Connor (133rd, 20:02.1) and Angela Martin Rubin (142nd, 20:12.3). Sophomore Sonya Brunner completed the Westminster scoring five in 151st (20:23.4).

Men's 8K
A trio of freshmen led the Griffin men and each landed on the all-time list. Joaquin Stultz paced Westminster, finishing 84th overall in 25:53.9, the 4th-best mark on the all-time list. Coen Whitney followed in 96th (26:04.2), good for 5th on the all-time list, and the two were within three-tenths of a second of each other at the mile mark (5:16.6 and 5:16.3). Fellow freshman LJ Johnson placed 125th in 26:28.7, which ranks 8th all-time. Seniors Diego Escalante (185th, 27:45.4) and Elliot Vargas (202nd, 28:07.1) rounded out the scoring five, and sophomore Jacob Fornander completed the lineup in 238th (28:50.9).

Griffin Performances

Women

• Kaja Wilcox (FR) – 19:44.1

• Haven Finley (SR) – 19:55.2

• Eileen O'Connor (JR) – 20:02.1

• Angela Martin Rubin (JR) – 20:12.3

• Sonya Brunner (SO) – 20:23.4

Men

• Joaquin Stultz (FR) – 25:53.9 (4th all-time)

• Coen Whitney (FR) – 26:04.2 (5th all-time)

• LJ Johnson (FR) – 26:28.7 (8th all-time)

• Diego Escalante (SR) – 27:45.4

• Elliot Vargas (SR) – 28:07.1

• Jacob Fornander (SO) – 28:50.9

Up Next
The Griffins will compete in the Dr. Thad Scholes XC Invitational in Twin Falls, ID.