RESULTS

SALEM, Ore. —Three weeks of built up energy for the Portland State cross country teams exploded on the field at the Charles Bowles Invitational Saturday morning. The Vikings, who hadn't competed since the Cougar Classic on Sept. 13, won the women's race for only the second time in program history, while the men recorded their best finish ever at the meet by placing second overall.
 
The Vikings' depth was on full display across both races Saturday at Bush Park. The Viking women placed four runners in the top 10 of the 5k, led by Hunter Storm at third overall, while the Viking men had their second through fifth runners finish within five spots of each other in the 8k. The women won their race with 54 total team points as a result, 32 points ahead of the University of Portland in second. The men finished with 71 points to place second behind UP, which won the men's race with 48 points.
 
The men had never placed higher than third at the meet before Saturday, and that was 15 years ago at the 2004 Charles Bowles Invitational.
 
The women have had a more storied history at the meet, as they recorded their second win in the past five years as a team. Additionally, Storm and the women's team's other top-10 finishers assured the Vikings of having at least one top-10 finisher at the meet for the fifth straight year.
 
Storm's third-place finish in 18:00.7 marked her highest finish ever at a cross country race, as well as just the second top-10 finish of her career. Delaney White, meanwhile, picked up her first-career top-10 finish as a Viking while placing fifth in 18:05.8. The Phoebe's followed at seventh and ninth, respectively, as Phoebe Jacques finished in 18:19.0 while Phoebe Brown finished in 18:21.1. Jacques' seven-place finish marked the second top-10 finish of her Viking career, while Brown's ninth-place finish marked her first.
 
Brown shaved 14 seconds off her personal best in the 5k Saturday, beating her old best that she set at last season's Charles Bowles Invitational. Brown is now 3-for-3 in setting personal bests this season, as she's set new marks in the 4k, 5k, and 6k over the Vikings' first three meets of 2019.
 
The Zoe's followed the Phoebe's for the Viking women, as both Zoe Andersen and Zoe Eberspecher set new 5k personal bests at the meet. Andersen shaved two seconds off her prep personal best while finishing 31st overall in 18:53.3. Eberspecher set the bigger PR of the two Zoe's as she shaved nearly 30 seconds off her previous best while placing 42nd overall in 19:14.6.
 
Monica Salazar rounded out the Viking women's runners while setting a one-second personal best with a 77th-place finish in 19:46.5. 
 
The Viking men had tighter bunching in their race while placing second behind the Pilots. The Vikings only had 33.1 seconds separate their top-five finishers Saturday, a closer spread than even the Pilots who had 38.5 seconds separate their top five.
 
Jason Rae led the Viking men while placing seventh overall, the first top-10 finish of his Viking career. Rae finished in 24:55.4, shaving close to 25 seconds off the 8k personal best he set only three weeks ago at the Cougar Classic.
 
Rae started a trend for the Viking men as six of the team's top seven runners set personal or seasonal bests in the 8k, while the Vikings finished with eight personal bests overall on the men's side.
 
The Vikings' next four finishers behind Rae placed within five spots of each other, as Josh Snyder, Drew Seidel, Max Norman and Brandon Hippe placed in a pack at 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th, respectively. Snyder set a six-second personal best with his finish in 25:19.4, beating the PR he set just three weeks ago at the Cougar Classic.
 
Seidel and Norman didn't set personal bests Saturday, but they shaved large chunks of time off their first 8ks of the season three weeks ago at the Cougar Classic. Seidel finished in 25:13.8 Saturday, 38 seconds better than his time three weeks earlier when he was just getting over an illness. Norman, meanwhile, shaved 17 seconds off his time three weeks ago at the Cougar Classic while finishing in 25:27.7 Saturday.
 
Luke Ramirez followed Hippe, who finished in 25:28.5, while setting his own personal best as the sixth runner in the Vikings' lineup. Ramirez placed 24th overall in 25:37.6, 13 seconds faster than the time he set at last season's Charles Bowles Invitational.
 
Two freshmen followed Ramirez while shaving loads of time off their first 8k finishes three weeks ago at the Cougar Classic. Evan Peters placed 27th overall in 25:40.3, more than 30 seconds faster than his time of 26:11.3 at the Cougar Classic. Zac Witman, meanwhile, shaved nearly a minute off his first time in the 8k, as he finished 29th overall in 25:46.1.
 
Junior Erik Solano shaved 47 seconds off his own 8k personal best, which he set at last season's Charles Bowles Invitational. Solano finished 33rd overall in 25:51.9 Saturday, well ahead of his time of 26:38.5 at last season's meet.
 
Nigel Leonis followed Solano with a four-second personal best while finishing 62nd overall in 26:36.6. Leonis' previous best in the 8k came two seasons ago at the 2017 Charles Bowles Invitational.
 
Cody Jones (70th, 26:45.7), Liam Jemison (78th, 26:58.1) and Jacob Emeterio (104th, 27:51.5) followed for the Vikings, while Chase Lovercheck rounded out the Vikings' contingent with a final personal best. Lovercheck, an all-conference 800-meter runner in track, placed 114th overall in 28:08.6, four seconds better than his time at last season's Charles Bowles Invitational.
 
The Vikings will next compete two weeks from now, when they'll split the squad across two different meets on Oct. 19. Half of the team will compete at the Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., while the rest of the Vikings compete at the Warner Pacific Classic at Lents Park in Portland, Ore.
 
Charles Bowles Invitational
Bush Park
Salem, Ore.
Oct. 5, 2019
 
Women's Top Ten Finishers (Cardinal 5k):
1. Whitney Rich, Whitman, 17:38.0; 2. Zita Molnar, Point Loma, 17:48.3; 3. Hunter Storm, Portland State, 18:00.7; 4. Grace Ritchie, Portland, 18:05.4; 5. Delaney White, Portland State, 18:05.8; 6. Sarah Edens, Embry-Riddle, 18:15.2; 7. Phoebe Jacques, Portland State, 18:19.0; 8. Jordan Sienkiewicz, Point Loma, 18:21.0; 9. Phoebe Brown, Portland State, 18:21.1; 10. Rees Jacot, Eastern Washington, 18:22.6.
 
Women's Team Scores (Cardinal 5k):
1. Portland State, 54 points; 2. Portland, 86 points; 3. Humboldt State, 95 points; 4. Eastern Washington, 101 points; 5. Embry-Riddle, 130 points; 6. Point Loma, 154 points; 7. Whitman, 195 points; 8. Willamette, 261 points; 9. Pacific (Ore.), 276 points; 10. Whitworth, 293 points; 11. Pacific Lutheran, 314 points; 12. Lewis & Clark, 339 points; 13. Linfield, 364 points; 14. George Fox, 371 points; 15. Puget Sound, 389 points; 16. Alaska Fairbanks, 414 points; 17. Concordia (Ore.), 416 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 169):
3. Hunter Storm, 18:00.7; 5. Delaney White, 18:05.8; 7. Phoebe Jacques, 18:19.0; 9. Phoebe Brown, 18:21.1; 31. Zoe Andersen, 18:53.3; 42. Zoe Eberspecher, 19:14.6; 77. Monica Salazar, 19:46.5.
 
Men's Top Ten Finishers (Cardinal 8k):
1. Colin Monaghan, Puget Sound, 24:37.5; 2. Calahan Warren, Embry-Riddle, 24:49.4; 3. Matt Schumann, Portland, 24:50.9; 4. Sean Richardson, Lewis & Clark, 24:51.5; 5. Carter Ledwith, Eastern Washington, 24:52.6; 6. Cameron Thompson, Portland, 24:55.2; 7. Jason Rae, Portland State, 24:55.4; 8. Cole Shugart, Portland, 24:56.3; 9. Isaac Barville, Eastern Washington, 24:59.4; 10. Ryan Szklany, Embry-Riddle, 25:00.1.
 
Men's Team Scores (Cardinal 8k):
1. Portland, 48 points; 2. Portland State, 71 points; 3. Eastern Washington, 94 points; 4. Embry-Riddle, 114 points; 5. Humboldt State, 122 points; 6. Alaska Fairbanks, 212 points; 7. George Fox, 229 points; 8. Lewis & Clark, 246 points; 9. Whitman, 278 points; 10. Willamette, 300 points; 11. Pacific Lutheran, 302 points; 12. Whitworth, 316 points; 13. Concordia (Ore.), 330 points; 14. Puget Sound, 346 points; 15. Pacific (Ore.), 448 points; 16. Linfield, 490 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 147):
7. Jason Rae, 24:55.4; 14. Josh Snyder, 25:13.0; 15. Drew Seidel, 25:13.8; 17. Max Norman, 25:27.7; 18. Brandon Hippe, 25:28.5; 24. Luke Ramirez, 25:37.6; 27. Evan Peters, 25:40.3; 29. Zac Witman, 25:46.1; 33. Erik Solano, 25:51.9; 62. Nigel Leonis, 26:36.6; 70. Cody Jones, 26:45.7; 78. Liam Jemison, 26:58.1; 104. Jacob Emeterio, 27:51.5; 114. Chase Lovercheck, 28:08.6.