ESTACADA, Ore. — Ari Smith dropped the cornrows over the offseason but still made hay Friday with an individual win and school record in the Vikings' season opener. Smith broke his own record in the 5k while becoming the first Viking men's runner to win a cross country race since 2011 as he led the Vikings at the Lewis & Clark XC Opener.
 
Smith's time of 15:01.7 smashed his previous record by more than 30 seconds, set last year on the same course at Milo McIver State Park. Smith out-kicked Lewis & Clark's Quinn Higgins and teammate Luke Gillingham for the win after the three were in a virtual dead heat with a kilometer to go.
 
Gillingham finished third in 15:06.0, a full 47 seconds faster than his time last year. Landen Sandoval gave the Viking men a third top 10 finisher with the first top 10 of his career, placing 10th in 15:48.2. That marked a new personal best for Sandoval by 13 seconds.
 
The top-heavy finish for the Viking men put them third out of five teams, just one point behind second-place Lewis-Clark (Idaho), 45-46. Lewis & Clark won its own meet on the men's side with a score of 33 points.
 
The Viking women placed second as a team behind a wave of runners that finished fourth through eighth in the women's 5k. Stina Tagesson led that group with a fourth-place finish in 18:38.1. Sam Sharp followed in 18:45.5, while Libby Fox, Brianna Mazilu and Addison Capozzi rounded out the team's top five in times of 18:48.6, 18:53.9 and 19:04.9, respectively.
 
Viola Alessandrini and Hannah Butterfield gave the Vikings two more runners in the top 15, placing 11th and 13th in 19:10.0 and 19:15.4, respectively.
 
The Viking women scored 30 points, just four points behind winners Lewis-Clark at 26. Lewis-Clark's top three runners went 1-2-3 to lead the team to the win.
 
Outside of the team scores, the Vikings showed improvement across the board from a year ago on the same course. All eight men's runners who competed last year bettered their time Friday. Vince Estrada shaved 29 seconds off his time from a year ago while placing 14th overall as the team's fourth runner behind Smith, Gillingham and Sandoval.
 
Aidan Brown posted the biggest improvement of the day for the Viking men, shaving 55 seconds off his time last season while placing 22nd overall in 16:28.9.
 
Mika Sarver Huber and Kyle Chen also improved by 16 and eight seconds, respectively, while placing 23rd and 29th in 16:35.9 and 16:50.4.
 
Ian Parks and Simon Walsh closed out the Viking men's runners at 31st and 41st, respectively, in times of 16:59.3 and 18:06.1.
 
Talise Wapsheli posted her own improvement on the women's side, shaving 13 seconds off her personal best with her finish in 20:20.1. Wapsheli placed 19th overall, two spots behind Emily Schmitke, who finished 17th in 20:03.1, and just ahead of teammate Riley Amarillas, who finished 23rd in 20:54.1.
 
Friday's race shook the rust off for the Vikings after a long summer. They'll return to action quickly with the Ash Creek Collegiate coming next Friday in Monmouth, Ore.

Lewis & Clark XC Opener
Milo McIver State Park
Estacada, Ore.
Sept. 4, 2026
 
Women's Top Ten Finishers (5k):
1. Damaris Kibiwot, Lewis-Clark, 18:09.8; 2. Kelsey Plymale, Lewis-Clark, 18:12.0; 2. Aubree Williams, Lewis-Clark, 18:21.1; 4. Stina Tagesson, Portland State, 18:38.1; 5. Sam Sharp, Portland State, 18:45.5; 6. Libby Fox, Portland State, 18:48.6; 7. Brianna Mazilu, Portland State, 18:53.9; 8. Addison Capozzi, Portland State, 19:04.9; Camille Alexander, Unattached, 19:06.5; 10. Eva Lundgren, Lewis-Clark, 19:07.3.
 
Women's Team Scores (5k):
1. Lewis-Clark (Idaho), 26 points; 2. Portland State, 30 points; 3. Pacific Lutheran, 104 points; 4. Lewis & Clark, 107 points; 5. Clark (Wash.), 127 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 45):
4. Stina Tagesson, 18:38.1; 5. Sam Sharp, 18:45.5; 6. Libby Fox, 18:48.6; 7. Brianna Mazilu, 18:53.9; 8. Addison Capozzi, 19:04.9; 11. Viola Alessandrini, 19:10.0; 13. Hannah Butterfield, 19:15.4; 17. Emily Schmitke, 20:03.1; 19. Talise Wapsheli, 20:20.1; 23. Riley Amarillas, 20:54.1; Irina López, DNF.
 
Men's Top Ten Finishers (5k):
1. Ari Smith, Portland State, 15:01.7; 2. Quinn Higgins, Lewis & Clark, 15:03.9; 3. Luke Gillingham, 15:06.0; 4. Emil Miller, Lewis & Clark, 15:08.8; 5. Malachi Walsh, Lewis-Clark, 15:15.8; 6. Paul Kent, Lewis-Clark, 15:16.3; 7. Evan Markelz, Lewis & Clark, 15:17.6; 8. Zoran LaFrombois, Lewis-Clark, 15:27.1; 9. A.J. Gibbs, Lewis & Clark, 15:41.9; 10. Landen Sandoval, Portland State, 15:48.2.
 
Men's Team Scores (5k):
1. Lewis & Clark, 33 points; 2. Lewis-Clark (Idaho), 45 points; 3. Portland State, 46 points; 4. Clark (Wash.), 124 points; 5. Pacific Lutheran, 141 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 48):
1. Ari Smith, 15:01.7; 3. Luke Gillingham, 15:06.0; 10. Landen Sandoval, 15:48.2; 14. Vince Estrada, 16:02.6; 22. Aidan Brown, 16:28.9; 23. Mika Sarver Huber, 16:35.9; 29. Kyle Chen, 16:50.4; 31. Ian Parks, 16:59.3; 41. Simon Walsh, 18:06.1.