SALEM, Ore. - Seattle U Cross Country traveled down to Salem, Oregon to compete at the 47th Charles Bowles Invitational. The women came away with a first-place team finish, while the men took fifth as a team.
Freshman Caitlyn O'Neil led the charge for the Redhawks. O'Neil finished seventh overall in the 5k race with a time of 18:17. O'Neil ran a huge personal best of a minute and 18 seconds, as she ran 19:35 over a month ago at the Portland State Rust Buster. The freshman's performance puts her 16th all-time for the cross country 5k in school history. Lilianne Hargreaves finished right behind O'Neil, finishing eighth overall with a time of 18:21. The performance by Hargreaves was a personal best by 50 seconds and puts her 19th in school history.
Azalea Groleau (11th) and Grace Much (18th) also scored top-20 individual finishes, as they ran 18:26 and 18:40, respectively. Groleau and Much also ran personal best, as Groleau PR'd by 24 seconds, and Much PR'd by 40 seconds. The women scored 70 points as a team, defeating Hawaii, Oregon State, University of Portland, and Portland State.
On the men's side, Alex Franklin finished 17th overall with a personal best of 24:55 in the 8k race. This was Franklin's first time breaking the 25 minute barrier, and he is now tenth all time in school history for the 8k. In addition, Franklin improved his time on this course from last year by 55 seconds. Gus Harquail was the next finisher for the men's team. Harquail finished 25th overall with a personal best of 25:14. Harquail beat his old personal best by over a minute, and he now has the 17th fastest 8k time in school history. The men placed fifth as a team, scoring 141 points.
The next time the Redhawks will line up for a race will be in two weeks, as they will venture over to Oregon again to run at the Lewis and Clark Invitational in Estacada, Oregon.
Stay connected with Seattle U cross country and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.