INDEPENDENCE, Ore. - Whitworth's London Haley nipped Lewis & Clark's Emil Miller at the finish line to become the first Pirate man to win a Northwest Conference cross country championship since 1992. Haley led Whitworth's men to a second place finish, while the Pirate women also took second place. George Fox University won both titles.
Haley and Miller were part of a lead group through the first three kilometers before the pair began pulling away at the race's halfway point. Haley and Miller ran virtually side-by-side for the final four kilometers and the sprint to the finish came down to a final spurt from Haley. Haley won in 24:00.6, while Miller followed in 24:00.8. Just two weeks ago Haley became the first Pirate man to run under 24 minutes in an eight-kilometer race and he nearly duplicated that feat at the conference championships.
That time of 24:00.6 is the fastest ever in a Northwest Conference championship meet. The previous fastest time was 24:02.4 by Pacific Lutheran's Ryan Stracke in 2022.
Haley is Whitworth's first individual men's champion since Steve Sund won the race in 1992.
Hector Gomez was in the lead pack through the first three-plus kilometers and he finished eighth in 24:47.7. Tristan Morris was 19th in 25:29.9 and Tom McKee was 19th in 25:30.7. Noah Reischman (25:43.5) was the fifth Pirate across the line in 26th place, just ahead of Jeremiah Shahbaz (25:46.2) in 27th place.
The final men's team scores were: George Fox 46, Whitworth 68, Lewis & Clark 77, Puget Sound 103, Willamette 104, Whitman 136, Pacific 191, Linfield 233, Pacific Lutheran 262.
Lily Jones and Kezlie Thygesen led the Whitworth women to a strong runner-up finish behind GFU. The Pirate pair finished tenths of a second apart in second and third place, respectively. Jones crossed in 21:30.6 while Thygesen followed in 21:30.9. Breanna Schmidt of George Fox led from the start and won in 21:10.5.
Bethany Doggett finished ninth in 22:08.7 to give the Bucs three runners among the top ten. She improved her place by nearly 20 positions from 2025.
Ashlyn Dary was 12th in 22:14.5, while Reagan Rich was 14th in 22:21.1. All five Pirate women earned All-NWC recognition. Jones and Thygesen earned first team honors for finishing among the top seven placers, while Doggett, Dary and Rich claimed second team recognition.
The final women's team scores were: George Fox 30, Whitworth 40, Puget Sound 80, Whitman 155, Pacific (Ore.) 169, Pacific Lutheran 170, Linfield 188, Lewis & Clark 191, Willamette 217.
The Pirates will be back in action on November 14th when Whitworth hosts the NCAA Division III West Regional meet at The Course in Spokane Valley.
