RESULTS (PDF)

SALEM, Ore. — Saturday's Charles Bowles Invitational served as the final dress rehearsal for the Portland State cross country programs before the Vikings kick it into a new gear in October and November. To that end, the Vikings marked their progress over the first month with half of the program's 14 runners between the men's and women's sides setting either seasonal or personal bests.
 
The improvements came as the Vikings both saw their biggest field of the season, as well as the first 5k of the season for the Viking women.
 
The Viking men had five of their seven runners set either seasonal or personal bests in the men's 8k at Bush's Pasture Park. Zach Grams led the Viking men with a 50-second seasonal best as he finished 61st overall in 25:48.1. Abdi Ibrahim followed at 78th overall in 26:18.8, close to four and a half minutes faster than his season-opening time at the Oak Knoll Loop Run when he ran at a relaxed pace.
 
Newcomers Amir Ahmed and Abdinajib Abade ran together and finished 174th and 175th overall in times of 28:36.0 and 28:36.2, respectively.
 
Freshman Lyness Ota closed out the team score with a 30-second improvement on his personal best, finishing 184th overall in 28:59.9.
 
Zach Salcido and Edward Niyongere – neither a distance runner during the track season – matched Ota with personal bests of their own, finishing 200th and 244th overall in times of 29:40.1 and 35:09.1, respectively.
 
"The men's team continues to impress," Portland State head coach Jonathan Marcus said of his men's team afterwards. "It's exciting to see them bond and support each other, both in practices and on race day. Our veteran harriers are doing a great job of shepherding our freshmen through races and workouts, teaching them the ropes of competing at this level. It's fun watching this group of men get better and better each week."
 
The Viking women did not have their full complement of runners competing Saturday. Even still, Abi Swain nearly posted their third straight top 10 finish, placing 14th overall in 17:53.8. Emma Stolte, who had joined Swain in the top 10 at the last two meets, followed at 30th overall in a new 5k personal best of 18:29.2.
 
Kynzie DeLeon and Campbell Faust finished as the team's third and fourth runners, respectively, while placing 83rd and 106th overall in times of 19:38.5 and 19:51.7. Dyllan Newville then closed out the team score at 115th overall with a new personal best of 19:58.1.
 
Taylor Nichols (120th, 20:08.0) and Addison Capozzi (132nd, 20:21.9) also competed for the Vikings Saturday.
 
"The women's team ran tough today," Marcus said of the women's team. "I like the Willamette Invite because it's an excellent local meet which exposes us to competing in large fields, like we'll see at the NCAA West Regional in November. We'll apply what we learned today to our preparations down the stretch."
 
Things pick up for the Vikings in two weeks when they head to the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational on Oct. 14. The Vikings will also compete at the Linfield Invite the same day, but the Bronco Invitational will be the first true test of the season for the Vikings.
 
Pass that, and then it's on to the championship meets between the Big Sky Championships (Oct. 27) and NCAA West Regional (Nov. 10). Those meets will be what Saturday's final dress rehearsal were for.
 
Charles Bowles Invitational
Bush's Pasture Park
Salem, Ore.
Sept. 30, 2023
 
Women's Top Ten Finishers (5k):
1. Sage Martin, College of Idaho, 17:17.9; 2. Abbey Shirts, College of Idaho, 17:20.2; 3. Hannah Clarizio, Unattached, 17:22.2; 4. Fleur Templier, Unattached, 17:23.7; 5. Azalea Groleau, Seattle U, 17:25.5; 6. Eliyse Tingelstad, College of Idaho, 17:26.3; 7. Emilie Langschwager, Hawaii, 17:27.0; 8. Alauna Carstens, Evergreen, 17:40.6; 9. Stina Pettersson, Portland, 17:41.4; 10. Delaney Griffin, Oregon State, 17:45.5.
 
Women's Team Scores (5k):
1. College of Idaho, 62 points; 2. Seattle U, 84 points; 3. Oregon State, 102 points; 4. Hawaii, 124 points; 5. UTSA, 131 points; 6. Portland, 137 points; 7. Point Loma, 174 points; 8. Mt. SAC, 275 points; 9. Portland State, 296 points; 10. Pacific (Ore.), 297 points; 11. Spokane CC, 308 points; 12. Eastern Oregon, 348 points; 13. UO Running Club, 353 points; 14. Bemidji State, 393 points; 15. Willamette, 430 points; 16. Oregon Tech, 467 points; 17. Clark College, 469 points; 18. Lewis & Clark, 474 points; 19. Linfield, 509 points; 20. Northwest U, 536 points; 21. Corban, 579 points; 22. Pacific Lutheran, 597 points; 23. Umpqua CC, 742 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 222):
14. Abi Swain, 17:53.8; 30. Emma Stolte, 18:29.2; 83. Kynzie DeLeon, 19:38.5; 106. Campbell Faust, 19:51.7; 115. Dyllan Newville, 19:58.1; 120. Taylor Nichols, 20:08.0; 132. Addison Capozzi, 20:21.9.
 
Men's Top Ten Finishers (8k):
1. Matthew Donis, Mt. SAC, 23:37.8; 2. Yonas Sauers, Seattle U, 23:52.6; 3. Roman Kirkov, Unattached, 23:53.4; 4. Trey Gannon, Unattached, 24:13.1; 5. Robert Swoboda, Corban, 24:18.1; 6. Cohen Williams, Portland, 24:25.0; 7. Johnathon Zavala, Mt. SAC, 24:31.6; 8. Micah Murphy, Northwest U, 24:33.9; 9. Justin Ash, Eastern Oregon, 24:38.2; 10. Colton Stunkard, UTSA, 24:39.7.
 
Men's Team Scores (8k):
1. Eastern Oregon, 77 points; 2. Mt. SAC, 79 points; 3. UTSA, 114 points; 4. College of Idaho, 120 points; 5. Portland, 124 points; 6. Northwest U, 159 points; 7. Corban, 174 points; 8. Seattle U, 239 points; 9. Oregon Tech, 261 points; 10. Lewis & Clark, 315 points; 11. Linfield, 329 points; 12. Lane CC, 368 points; 13. Willamette 380 points; 14. Spokane CC, 421 points; 15. Pacific (Ore.), 489 points; 16. Portland State, 489 points; 17. Clark College, 505 points; 18. UO Running Club, 512 points; 19. SW Oregon CC, 518 points; 20. Multnomah, 538 points; 21. OSU Running Club, 555 points; 22. Pacific Lutheran, 622 points; 23. Clackamas CC, 677 points; 24. Bushnell, 697 points; 25. Umpqua CC, 724 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 244):
61. Zach Grams, 25:48.1; 78. Abdi Ibrahim, 26:18.8; 174. Amir Ahmed, 28:36.0; 175. Abdinajib Abade, 28:36.2; 184. Lyness Ota, 28:59.9; 200. Zach Salcido, 29:40.1; 244. Edward Niyongere, 35:09.1.