PARKLAND, Wash. -- The Loggers raced well at the PLU Invite, with both teams coming in fourth and several runners earning personal bests. 

How it Happened
Women's Race
The women's team kicked off the meet in a stacked field of regional runners. Emily Moore ran a personal best time of 22:25.60 to kick off her 6k racing this year, notching an 8th-placed finish. She was fifth out of the Northwest Conference competition, and ran a well-paced race. 

Erin Schmidlin came in next, finishing with a time of 23:02.00. She led a pack of Loggers all finishing in under the 24-minute mark, including Sarah Gardner (23:22.90), Samantha Palm (23:26.10), Lydia Cocciolone (23:34.30), and Ingrid Haaland (23:53.00). Gardner, Haaland and Cortright all secured personal bests, with Haaland and Cortright kicking off their 6k career with some strong running. Hanna Cortright (24:31.40), Bria Metcalf-Lindenburger (24:59.20) and Charlie Boedecker (26:42.80) rounded out the Logger runners. 

Overall, the women's team had a great showing. They placed fourth out of a total of 15 teams in the field, including three NWC schools and DII Central Washington and St. Martins. The Loggers are positioned well early in the season, as they only trailed George Fox and Whitworth from the NWC. 

Men's Race
Noah Larsen was the star of the show for the Loggers, going head-to-head with Whitworth's NWC Runner-up, London Haley. Larsen joined Haley as the only two runners under 25-minutes for the 8k, gapping the rest of the field by nearly 30 seconds. This is a major step up for Larsen, who has entered his sophomore year swinging. His time of 24:42.7 was a personal best by a minute and a half, which was at the NWC Championships hosted by PLU last year. 

Ian Cook also ran a personal best time of 25:52.70, finishing in 15th for the Loggers. He out-kicked George Fox's Isaac Montanes to slide inside the top 15. Emerson Ingraham wasn't far behind in 18th (26:07.19), with Noah Brown and Ethan Chesire finishing neck-and-neck with times of 26:33.7 and 26:33.8. 

Leo Aslakson, Dominic Turner, and Tdohasan Sunray all slid under the 27-minute mark to round out the scoring for the Loggers. Aslakson finished with a time of 26:51.00, Turner finished in 26:53.50, and Sunray rounded out the grouping with a time of 26:55.40. David Palmieri (28:14.20) and Ben Johnson (29:29.90) brought up the final runners for Puget Sound.

Overall, the men's team ran really well. After being projected 6th in the NWC Preseason Polls, the Loggers showed that they will be more of a force to be reckoned with. They finished in fourth place today behind George Fox, Whitworth, and Lewis & Clark, but were only 4 points out of third. If they continue to run this well, they'll be able to climb the rankings for the remainder of the season. 

What Happens Next
The teams head across the state to Spokane for the Frank Knott Classic on Saturday, October 3rd.