RESULTS

MONMOUTH, Ore. — Apologies to anyone who abstains from meat on Fridays, but someone owes Emma Stolte a chicken dinner. She was the winner, winner, after all, at the Ash Creek Festival, winning the women's 5k by 19 seconds at Ash Creek Preserve.
 
Stolte became the first Viking – man or woman – to win a cross country race since Bára Stýblová won the Charles Bowles Invitational in 2022.
 
The individual win highlighted a podium-filled showing for the Vikings, who placed three runners in the top 10 of both the women's 5k and men's 6k. Taylor Nichols (7th) and Sam Sharp (10th) joined Stolte in the top 10 on the women's side, while Nick Moore (5th), Ari Smith (8th) and Benjamin Sanchez (10th) led the Viking men. The Viking women hadn't placed three runners in the top 10 of a race since 2023, while the men hadn't done it since 2021.
 
The depth of high finishers led the Vikings to second place finishes in both races. The Viking women finished second to the University of Portland, scoring 50 points to the Pilots' 30. The Viking men finished second to meet hosts Western Oregon, scoring 45 points to the Wolves' 28.
 
The women's 5k kicked off Friday's meet, and with Stolte leading wire-to-wire, the meet got off on the right foot for the Vikings. Stolte finished in 17:21.6, well ahead of the No. 2 finisher – Oregon State's Maella Hodgson – who finished in 17:40.6. Stolte narrowly missed out on the personal best she set two weeks earlier at the Lewis & Clark Opener of 17:21.1.
 
Nichols also narrowly missed a personal-best time with her finish in 18:21.0. She easily set a personal-best finish, however, as her seventh-place finish was 18 spots over her previous best when she placed 25th overall at the Oak Knoll Loop Run in 2023.
 
Sharp set both a personal best time and finish Friday, as she placed 10th overall in 18:45.1 Sharp became the first true freshman on the women's team to place in the top 10 at any cross country meet since Maya Irving placed seventh at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in 2021.
 
Two more freshmen rounded out the Viking women's top five in Sonja Jones and Libby Fox. Jones finished 21st overall in 19:28.9, while Fox crossed the line 27th overall in 19:47.4.
 
Irina López followed two spots back from Fox, placing 29th in 20:04.3. Emily Schmitke placed three spots back from López at 32nd overall while shaving 18 seconds off her 5k time from the Lewis & Clark Opener with her finish in 20:20.9.
 
Moore tried to give the Vikings back-to-back winners in the men's 6k. The sophomore, who was racing for the first time this season, held the lead at the 1k split. Others took the lead from there, but Moore still set personal bests for time (18:13.8) and finish (5th) Friday. Moore's time represented a 17-second improvement over his previous best in the cross country 6k, moving him into a tie for third all-time at the distance at Portland State.
 
Smith and Sanchez, both freshmen, joined Moore in the top 10. Smith placed eighth overall for the second straight meet – he also placed eighth at the Lewis & Clark Opener where he was the first true freshman on the men's team to finish in the top 10 since 2018 – in 18:34.0. Sanchez, meanwhile, recorded his first top 10 finish, placing 10th overall in 18:50.1.
 
Smith and Sanchez now rank seventh and 10th all-time in the cross country 6k at Portland State.
 
Sophomore Luke Gillingham narrowly missed his first top 10 finish, placing 11th in 18:55.0.
 
Senior Tom Thake led a wave of back-to-back-to-back Viking finishers, as he closed out the team score as the Vikings' fifth finisher. The fifth spot in the Vikings' lineup represented a three-spot improvement for Thake, even as Moore raced for the first time this season. Thake finished 16th overall in 19:32.1, while Amir Ahmed and freshman Jorge Garcia followed at 17th and 18th, respectively, in times of 19:36.1 and 19:38.9.
 
Freshmen JD Arthur and Vince Estrada followed at 24th and 29th overall, respectively, in 19:48.6 and 19:59.7.
 
Sophomore Mika Sarver Huber shaved 16 seconds off his 6k personal best while finishing 33rd overall in 20:08.5.
 
Sophomores Luis Muradas and Kyle Chen followed at 37th and 41st overall, respectively, in times of 20:16.4 and 20:19.5.
 
Junior Lyness Ota shaved more than 35 seconds off his 6k personal best with his finish in 20:25.3, as he placed 47th overall.
 
The Vikings will get a second chance to run at Ash Creek Preserve later in the month. The Vikings return to Monmouth for the Mike Johnson Classic on Sept. 27. The race distances will be different then – the women run a 6k at 11 a.m. while the men run an 8k at 11:45 a.m. – but the course should largely be the same.
 
Start marinating the chicken now.
 
Ash Creek Festival
Ash Creek Preserve
Monmouth, Ore.
Sept. 12, 2025
 
Women's Top Ten Finishers (5k):
1. Emma Stolte, Portland State, 17:21.6; 2. Maella Hodgson, Oregon State, 17:40.6; 3. Selena Bangerter, Portland, 17:51.3; 4. Delaney Ulrich, Unattached, 18:00.6; 5. Cadence Kasprick, Unattached, 18:01.5; 6. Kyla Potratz, Western Oregon, 18:15.6; 7. Taylor Nichols, Portland State, 18:21.0; 8. Megan Crum, Portland, 18:22.0; 9. Lindsey Kaines, Portland, 18:28.7; 10. Sam Sharp, Portland State, 18:45.1.
 
Women's Team Results (5k):
1. Portland, 30 points; 2. Portland State, 50 points; 3. Western Oregon, 57 points; 4. Corban, 125 points; 5. Lewis & Clark, 175 points; 6. Bushnell, 182 points; 7. Lane CC, 191 points; 8. Clackamas CC, 205 points; 9. Umpqua CC, 250 points; 10. Linfield, 271 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 92):
1. Emma Stolte, 17:21.6; 7. Taylor Nichols, 18:21.0; 10. Sam Sharp, 18:45.1; 21. Sonja Jones, 19:28.9; 27. Libby Fox, 19:47.4; 29. Irina López, 20:04.3; 32. Emily Schmitke, 20:20.9; 38. Riley Amarillas, 20:48.0; 69. Hannah Butterfield, 23:07.9; 83. Talise Wapsheli, 25:56.7.
 
Men's Top Ten Finishers (6k):
1. Easton Pomrankey, Unattached, 17:50.9; 2. Matthew Resnik, Western Oregon, 17:59.3; 3. Ethan Bothwell, Western Oregon, 18:06.9; 4. Zander Campbell, Western Oregon, 18:08.7; 5. Nick Moore, Portland State, 18:13.8; 6. Quinn Higgins, Lewis & Clark, 18:14.3; 7. Andrew Rush, Lane CC, 18:33.4; 8. Ari Smith, Portland State, 18:34.0; 9. Isaiah Rodriguez, Western Oregon, 18:42.8; 10. Benjamin Sanchez, Portland State, 18:50.1.
 
Men's Team Results (6k):
1. Western Oregon, 28 points; 2. Portland State 45 points; 3. Lewis & Clark, 65 points; 4. Lane CC, 102 points; 5. Corban, 151 points; 6. Umpqua CC, 156 points; 7. Bushnell, 202 points; 8. Mt. Hood CC, 240 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 85):
5. Nick Moore, 18:13.8; 8. Ari Smith, 18:34.0; 10. Benjamin Sanchez, 18:50.1; 11. Luke Gillingham, 18:55.0; 16. Tom Thake, 19:32.1; 17. Amir Ahmed, 19:36.1; 18. Jorge Garcia, 19:38.9; 24. JD Arthur, 19:48.6; 29. Vince Estrada, 19:59.7; 33. Mika Sarver Huber, 20:08.5; 37. Luis Muradas, 20:16.4; 41. Kyle Chen, 20:19.5; 47. Lyness Ota, 20:25.3; 59. Landen Sandoval, 21:18.2; 69. Simon Walsh, 22:30.0.