SALEM, ORE. -- The 40th Annual Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational featured plenty of talented runners and highly-regarded teams on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Bush's Pasture Park. Among the top teams were those representing host Willamette University, which took second place in the Women's Cardinal 5-kilometer race and third place in the Men's Cardinal 8-kilometer race.

In the Women's Cardinal race, Chico State (Calif.) from NCAA Division II claimed the team title with a score of 45. Willamette finished close behind Chico State, finishing second with a score of 52. Third place went to Central Washington University at 87, while fourth place was earned by Whitworth University at 128. University of Puget Sound placed fifth at 164.

Ayla Granados, running unattached, won the individual championship in the Women's Cardinal race. She ahcieved a time of 17:37.8. Dani Eggleston from Central Washington was second in 17:55.1, and Olivia Mancl (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette was third at 17:57.8.

Gabi Jenkins of Nebraska Wesleyan University placed fourth in 18:01.9, just holding off a charge by Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) of Willamette, who took fifth in 18:02.1.

The Men's Cardinal race was won by the University of Oregon, which recorded a nearly perfect team score of 16 (1-2-3-4-6). Chico State placed second with a score of 40, while Willamette was third at 131. Christopher Newport University (Va.) was fourth at 177, with Central Washington in fifth at 180.

John Gregorek, competing unattached, crossed the finish line first in the Men's Cardinal race in 23:54.0. He edged out Blake Henry, also running unattached, who was timed at 23.54.4. A third unattached runner, William Reyes, placed third in 23:54.9. Fourth place went to Cole Watson from the University of Oregon in 24:04.9. Tanguy Pepiot of Oregon was fifth at 24:21.6.

Alex McGuirk from Chico State was the top NCAA Division II runner in the race, as he took eigth place in 24:28.3. Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) of Willamette was the first NCAA Division III athlete to cross the finish line. He took 19th place in 25:05.0.

An extended story will be posted later.