The Pioneer cross country teams competed in the 2007 Northwest Conference Cross Country Championships this Saturday, Oct. 27 at Willamette Mission Park near Brooks, Ore. The Pioneer women's team finished third (results). The men's team finished seventh (results).

On the women's side, Amanda Phillips (senior, Phoenix, Ore.) finished third overall, with a time of 21:13.77, finishing nearly four seconds ahead of the fourth place finisher. Willamette's Sarah Zerzan, the defending National Champion, repeated as champion with a time of 20:36.1. Tamma Carleton (junior, Elk, Calif.) finished seventh with a time of 21:50.81. Kelsey Croall (freshman, Newcastle, Calif.) was 27th with a 23:15.31. Kitty Smith (junior, Malibu, Calif.) was 39th with a time of 23:33.95.

The men's team placed seventh. Karl Dickman (sophomore, Bend, Ore.) was the top individual finisher for the Pioneer men with a time of 26:26.01. David Berman (junior, Scottsdale, Ariz.) was the other Pioneer to finish in the top half of the racers, placing 35th with a 26:54.28.

From Coach Woodard... 

With temperatures in the low 50s, clear skies, and a light breeze, it was a great day for racing. The rough and narrow start caused some bottlenecking leaving Amanda and Tamma back in the pack. They ran through the field breaking into the top ten at the end of the first mile. From the one and a half mile mark to the three mile mark Amanda ran in a solitary 5th place, slowly reeling in the 2 through 4 runners. At three miles she put in a major move that took her into second which she held until the last 200 meters when one of them slipped back by her. Amanda finished third in a school record time of 21:13.7. Tamma had three runners latch onto her as she charged through the middle miles. She broke two of them but wasn't able to hold off the third still finishing strongly in seventh place with a seasonal best time of 21:50.8. This was Tamma's third consecutive year of making first team All Conference. Kelsey Croall had another outstanding race weaving her way through the field to 27th with a PR performance of 23:15.3. Kitty Smith stepped back up to the line with a big effort in 39th just missing her PR in 23:33.9. Rounding out the scoring for the team was Hannah Hultine running her best race of the year with a seasonal best in 24:34.5.

"The team did a terrific job today! This group just keep stepping up. They ran fast, raced smart, and had fun. The team's goal was to be in the top three and they did that by beating nationally ranked Whitman."

The men's race got out fast and was crowded for the first mile. Richie LeDonne was out nicely but developed muscle cramps causing him to have to stop to stretch them out. He showed real fortitude by stepping back onto the course to finish but considerably behind his usual place.
Without their normal number one runner leading the way, Karl Dickman moved up with the best race of his L&C career with a big PR of 26:26.0 in 26th. David Berman ran another gutty race in 35th at 26:54.2. Leif Bullock just missed his PR running 27:36.5 for 47th with easily his best
race. Zach Yeager moved back into the top group with a solid race in 48th with a time of 27:51.8. Captain Paul Mandsager was the final scorer for the Pioneers in 50th with a time of 27:59.2.

"The men had a little tougher time today but it wasn't for lack of effort. They competed hard and battled through some rough patches. They are undeterred and looking ahead to the Region meet in two weeks."