SALEM, Ore. -- In an exciting Northwest Conference Championship meet, the Puget Sound women's cross country team raced well to finish in third place, and the men's team narrowly edged out Willamette to finish in fourth place. This is the women's highest finish since 2017, and the men's first top-4 finish since 2018. 

How it Happened
Emily Moore led the way for the women's team, earning All-NWC First Team honors after a fifth-place finish. She ran an impressive 21:48.9, moving up one spot in the final kilometer to edge out Pacific's Ria Gill. Moore crushed her previous career-best time by 37 seconds, with her PB coming at the perfect race for the Logs. 

Erin Schmidlin also ran a personal best time of 22:14.8, as the senior earned All-NWC Third Team honors for placing 13th overall. She beat her personal-best time by nine seconds, which she ran at the same course just two weeks ago. Samantha Palm crossed the finish line next, crossing in 23:05.7 to just miss out on a top-20 finish. She ran her way into 21st, running the best time of her season so far. 

Sarah Gardner was just two seconds behind Palm, coming in 23rd with a time of 23:07.1. She beat her previous best time by 15 seconds, running as the fourth-fastest Logger on the day. Lydia Cocciolone wrapped up the scoring five for Puget Sound, running a 23:23.3 to help the Loggers to a 3rd-place team finish. 

Ingrid Haaland and Hanna Cortright both ran personal best times as well, running together to place 29th and 30th. Haaland ran a 23:30.8, and Cortright crossed the line at 23:36.1. Avery Bahr (24:01.4), Bria Metcalf-Lindenburger (25:58.5), and Charlie Boedeker (26:09.0) wrapped up the individual runners for the Loggers, capping off a great conference meet. 

On the men's side, the Loggers beat out Willamette by a single position, finishing fourth in a wild race. Ian Cook had a phenomenal last 2k, moving up four spots in one of his best kicks of the season. He finished with a personal best time of 24:46.9, earning All-NWC Second Team Honors for his great work during the race. Noah Larsen finished just behind Cook, sneaking his way into the top-10. He ran yet another sub-25 minute time, placing 10th to earn All-NWC Second Team honors. 

Another Noah, Noah Brown, came in third for the Loggers with a time of 25:48.2. Placing 28th overall, Brown was steady throughout the race, just edging out Willamette's Connor Gosselin. Noah number three, Noah Escobedo, was the fourth Log to cross the finish line, running a personal best time of 25:55.2. He broke the 26-minute mark for the first time in his young career, picking up much-needed points.

Ethan Chesire was the final Logger to count towards the scoring, following just behind Escobedo. He ran a time of 26:01.5, placing 36th in the first NWC Championships race of his career. Emerson Ingraham (26:18.0), Leo Aslakson (26:31.1), and Dominic Turner (26:34.6) all ran well, as Turner picked up a personal best along the way. 

Tdohasan Sunray (26:53.9) and David Palmieri (26:59.7) rounded out the Logger runners, as every single Logger ran a sub-27-minute time for the first time all season. Palmieri ran a personal best time to help the Loggers achieve this great feat. 

What Happens Next
Both men's and women's teams will make the trip to the NCAA Regional Meet in Spokane on Saturday, November 14th.