XC: personal records go down

For the boys, three of their seven runners achieved personal records in the 5K event, leading HRV to a 11th overall finish.

“The boys kept pace against some of the best teams in the state,” said Bertram.

Josh Haynes would be the first Eagle to cross the finish line on Saturday with a personal best time of 16 minutes, 29.46 seconds.

As usual, Braxton Wilson followed closely behind Haynes with a time of 16:46.34.

Finn Peterson would be the second Eagle on the day to set a personal best time with his 17:00.58 finish.

The fourth Eagle to cross the finish line and the third to break a personal record was senior Travis Running, who finished with a time of 17:15.49.

Omar Quintana (17:19.39), Oscar Powell (17:52.54) and Connor Truax (18:51.65) would conclude the George Fox XC Classic for the boys.

“The team’s spread between one through five was an impressive 45 seconds, with seniors Travis Running and Finn Peterson posting personal records of 40 and 10 seconds to help the boys to a strong finish,” said Bertram. “Omar and Braxton completed the boys scoring with strong races as well.”

For the girls, more than half of their team came out of George Fox with new personal records and the team finsihed 15th overall.

This should not be a surprise by now, but once again Frances Dickinson finished first for the Eagles and broke her personal best time of 19:29.7 set last week at the Champoeg Invitational by more than 20 seconds with a time of 19:04.1.

Evelyn Nunez would be the next Eagle to cross the finish line for the girls and with a time of 19:31.5, she would also set a personal best time. Behind Nunez was Chloe Bullock, the third Eagle in a row to break a personal record with her 19:54.4 finish.

The fourth and fifth runners for the Eagles, Vada Joplin Clay and Josie Petersen, each broke the 21-minute mark with times of 21:09.09 and 21.32.41. For Petersen, her 21:32.41 time would be a season best time.

Teddy Parkinson ended the day of broken records for HRV cross country the only way possible, by running a personal best time of 21:33.4.

After the meet, Bertram was impressed with both teams and how they “competed strong in a highly competitive meet.

“George Fox really showed not only us, but other teams around Oregon evidence of our momentum we have going into CRC and State,” Bertram said. “It has been enjoyable to see the progress this team has made not only in performance but as a cohesive caring team.”

Next up for cross country is a “low-key race,” as Bertram described it. The team will travel to Pendleton this Thursday, Oct. 19 “to preview the CRC course before championship season.”