First-year Head Coach Keith Woodard will be at the helm of a women’s team poised to continue building on the success of the last two years. Last season, the women finished third at the Northwest Conference championships with a mere 11 points separating third through sixth place in the NWC. The Pioneers edged George Fox by three points for their third-place finish. The team managed to duplicate its Conference success at the West Regionals with the team finishing fourth out of 16 teams. Tamma Carleton (junior, Elk, Calif.) earned her second-straight first team All-Conference honors. Amanda Phillips (senior, Phoenix, Ore.) was named to the second team. Both runners ran fantastic races at the West Regionals with Carleton finishing second and Philips ninth, good enough for both runners to earn individual invitations to the NCAA Championships. It was the first time since 1985 that the Pioneers sent two runners to the National Championships and the second time that Carleton competed at Nationals, earning her first invitation as a freshman in 2005. Running in West Chester, Ohio, Carleton placed 42nd and Phillips 96th at the Championships. Carleton’s finish was the highest-ever for a female Pioneer runner at cross country nationals.

With both Carleton and Phillips returning this season, the Pioneer women are in a position to be one of the top teams at the West Regionals again this season with the added advantage of the race being held on their home course, McIver Park, on Saturday, November 10. Hannah Hultine (senior, Tualatin, Ore.) and Kitty Smith (junior, Malibu, Calif.) will provide depth for the Pioneer women. Both Hultine and Smith made their way into the top-15 all-time Pioneer 6k  performances last season. Newcomers Kelsey Croall (freshman, Newcastle, Calif.) and Sarah Goldberg (freshman, Flagstaff, Ariz.) look to be factors on the team.

While the women’s team will have a very familiar look to it, the men’s team will be without two of the top three finishers from last year’s regionals. It will be an opportunity for last year’s number two runner, David Berman (junior, Scottsdale, Ariz) and follow veterans Paul Mandsager (senior, Anchorage, Alaska), Daniel McDuff (junior, Snohomish, Wash.) and Karl Dickman (sophomore, Bend, Ore.) to take over the leadership of the team and provide a solid foundation for team scoring. The Pioneers’ top runner will most likely come from an influx of very talented newcomers. A pair of transfers, Jeff Carman (junior, Elmira, Ore.), a runner from Lane Community College and Zach Yeager (sophomore, Chico, Calif.), a transfer from Hamilton College, and two freshmen, Trent Binford-Walsh (freshman, Bethlehem, Penn.) and Richie LeDonne (freshman, Narbarth, Penn.), should all compete for spots in the Pioneer top-seven.

The season opens on a Friday night with the Pioneers heading to Monmouth for the Western Oregon Invitational.