INDEPENDENCE, Ore. – Alex Peters and Abby Staley posted a pair of high finishes to lead the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday morning at the George Oja Linfield Invitational cross country meet at Oak Knoll Golf Course.
Peters finished 15th out of a field of 260 runners that featured several NCAA Division I competitors. He scored 14 points to lead Whitworth to a sixth-place team finish. He ran the eight-kilometer course in 25:02.3.
Bradley Peloquin of the University of Portland won the men's race with a time of 23:52.2.
London Haley was 32nd in 25:26.1 and James Dugenet finished 47th in 25:54.5. Alex McIntyre crossed in 68th place (26:13.6) while Isaac Akiyama was 70th (26:14.8).
The top-five men's teams were Portland 19, CCC Elite 81, Eastern Oregon 112, Central Arizona 128, San Diego Mesa 159. Whitworth finished sixth with 163. There were 23 men's teams in the meet.
Staley finished 21st in the women's race, covering the six-kilometer course in 22:19.5. There were 180 finishers in the women's competition and Staley scored 17 points towards the Bucs' team total.
Oregon State's Sage Brooks won the women's meet with a time of 20:41.7.
Kezlie Thygesen finished 38th in 23:04.7 and Ashlyn Dary was 48th in 23:24.6. Lily Jones finished in 76th place (24:17.5), while Courtney Osborn was 87th (24:36.6).
The top five women's teams were: Oregon State 42, Portland 45, Carleton (Minn.) 75, Southern Oregon 144, San Diego Mesa 172. Whitworth finished 8th with 211 points. There were 19 women's teams.
The Pirates will now turn their attention to the championship phase of the season, beginning with the 2024 Northwest Conference Championships which will take place on the same race course in two weeks (Nov. 2).
