PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College cross country is set to return to Tacoma, Washington on Saturday for the 2025 Northwest Conference Cross Country Championship Meet. 
 
Both races will take place on the Pacific Lutheran Meadows course. The men's 8K race will start at 10 a.m. and the women's 6K race will begin at 11 a.m. Following the two races, the NWC Championship Ceremony will take place at Noon. There will be live results available for the meet. Fourteen of Lewis & Clark's 20 runners competed at the PLU Invitational on September 20. 
 
2024 NWC CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS 
 
Both Lewis & Clark teams are aiming to finish in the top-four in the NWC standings for a sixth-consecutive season. Last year, women's cross country placed fourth overall with 90 points. They finished just 14 points behind second-place Willamette University (74) and 11 points back of Whitworth University (79). Men's cross country also finished in fourth place and recorded 108 points. Whitworth (74) and Whitman (90) finished in second and third and the University of Puget Sound placed fifth overall (121). 
 
Assistant coach Riley Buese won her second-straight Northwest Conference Title to lead the women's team. She crossed the finish line in 21:16.6 to win the race by a program-record 34.2 seconds. Senior Malia Heien joined Buese on the NWC First Team All-Conference Team by finishing fourth overall (22:23.9). Graduate Madeleine Boyle came in third on the team and just missed an All-Conference spot by coming across in 17^thplace (23:07.4). Junior Skylar Willow (35^th) and sophomore Talia Tomhave (39^th) finished as the team's fourth and fifth scorers. 
 
On the men's side, sophomore Evan Markelz earned his second-straight All-Conference honors. Markelz placed fourth overall (24:55.5) to finish inside the top-five for a second-straight year. Sophomore Quinn Higgins finished second on the team and 17^th overall (25:29.1). Graduate Peter Ford placed third on the team and 21^stoverall (25:41.1). Sophomore Emil Miller and first year AJ Gibbs rounded out the Pioneers scoring lineup by placing 37^th and 38^th overall. 
 
MEN'S PREVIEW 
 
Men's cross country is looking to improve upon their fourth-place finish from a year ago. The Pioneers were picked to repeat in fourth place in the Northwest Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll with 45 points. They were predicted to finish just behind Whitworth (59) and Whitman (47). 
 
Six-time defending NWC Champions George Fox University are the favorites going into the weekend. The Bruins rank fifth in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) West Regional Rankings. The Bruins are joined in the poll by Whitworth (eight place) and Willamette (ninth place). George Fox also sits first in the conference in the brand-new Cross Country Rating Index (XCRI) and in the top-31 in the nation in both ratings. 
 
This year's Pioneers team returned nine of the 10 runners who competed during the postseason last Fall. Assistant coach Peter Ford, who graduated in May, was the big loss. He finished third on the team at both the conference and regional championship meets. 
 
The team has put together strong results during the regular season as they've worked to determine their new five-member scoring lineup. They put together their best performance of the season at the PLU Invitational - when they placed second out of 12 teams. The Pioneers finished second, in a field of all nine NWC schools, with 87 total points. Higgins (third), Miller (15^th), Markelz (16^th) and Garcia (27^th) all finished in the top-30 and senior Theron Plumb came across in 60^th place to round out the scoring lineup. Lewis & Clark edged Whitworth (89) and Whitman (97) who placed third and fourth overall. 
 
Higgins has been Lewis & Clark's top runner all season long. After just missing out on an All-Conference and All-Region spot last year, he has finished in the top-10 in three of his five races this year. Higgins has finished among the top-three NCAA DIII runners in all five races this season, including placing second in his past two races. In his last time out, he posted the eighth-fastest 8K time in school history (24:39.2). Garcia and Miller have been nearly as consistent as Higgins. They have finished in the top-four on the team in every race this season and have both set new PRs in their last two 8Ks. Garcia (24:44.1) and Miller (25:19.3) rank 10^th and 26^th all-time in program history. Markelz has dealt with a nagging injury all season long but is set to compete on Saturday. In his lone 8K of the season, he finished 16^th overall at the PLU Invitational.
 
Plumb will look to lead a lead a group of six runners competing for the fifth and final scoring spot. Plumb has put together the best season of his career. The senior has finished in the top-five on the team in four of Lewis & Clark's five meets and finished sixth on the team in the other meet. He recorded a career-best time of 26:03.3 at the Linfield George Oja Invitational on October 18. Junior Colin Shimabukuro, sophomore AJ Gibbs and first year Knox Orchard all finished in the top-five on the team at one meet this season. A year ago, Gibbs (fifth), Shimabukuro (seventh) and Plumb (eighth) all finished in the top-eight on the team at NWCs. 
 
WOMEN'S PREVIEW 
 
Women's cross country is aiming to extend their top-four streak on Saturday. They were picked to finish tied for fourth in the NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 40 total points. The Pioneers tied with the University of Puget Sound (40) and finished just behind Whitworth (54) and Willamette (49). 
 
George Fox is also the favorite heading into the women's race. The Bruins have won four-consecutive NWC Titles and have scored 40 points or fewer at all four meets. George Fox sits sixth overall in this week's USTFCCCA West Regional Rankings. The favorites have a a slight edge on Whitworth (seventh), Pacific (eighth) and Puget Sound (10^th) in the Regional Rankings. George Fox is also the top-ranked team in the XCRI, but the Bruins, Whitworth and Pacific are ranked 45^th-47^th in the "team knockout" rankings. 
 
The Pioneers have had to reshape their lineup after graduating Buese and Boyle. The two seniors finished in the top-three on the team in every race last season and both runners finished in the top-40 at the NCAA Regional Championship. Lewis & Clark has relied on several returners to step up and fill those spots in the lineup. 
 
Women's cross country has struggled to put together a complete performance over their past few meets. One key issue has been the absence of one of their top runners in three of their past four meets. Heien has missed two competitions due to an injury and senior Miriam Reside did not compete at the PLU Invitational due to an injury. Both runners are set to toe the line on Saturday. In their lone meet where their whole lineup was healthy, Lewis & Clark placed 19^th out of 27 teams against a loaded field at the Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational. The Pioneers (526 points) finished just five points behind George Fox (521) and 36 points behind host Willamette. 
 
Heien and Reside have been the Pioneers top two runners all season. Heien is looking to earn her fourth-straight All-Conference accolades in cross country. She has finished fourth at NWCs in each of the past two seasons and placed 12^th overall as a first year. Reside has put together her best cross country season by far. She has set new career-best times in a 5K and 6K and cracked the top-50 in program history on October 18 at the Linfield George Oja Invitational. Reside's time of 23:53:86 moved her into 46^th in program history. 
 
Willow and Tomhave have carved out spots in the team's scoring lineup for a second-straight season. Willow has finished in the top-five in all five meets and placed second on the Pioneers twice. Tomhave has placed in the top-five on the team in each of the past four meets and finished second on the squad (70^th overall) at the PLU Invitational. Last year, the duo finished fourth and fifth on the team at both NWCs and Regionals. 
 
Senior Emogene Lutz, juniors Nadia Cota and Melissa Zurla and sophomore Maeva Conroy will all be competing for the team's fifth and final scoring spot. Lutz has put together her best season since her first year and finished in the top-five on three occasions. Cota has put together a career year of her own. She has finished in the top-five on the team in each of the past two meets and recorded a PR 5K time at the Linfield George Oja Invitational (24:52.76). Zurla and Conroy have each finished in the top-five on one occasion this year. 
 
THING TO KNOW 
 
The Northwest Conference amended the All-Conference teams for cross country heading into this year. This season, the top-five finishers in each race will be named to the NWC All-Conference First Team. The runners who finish sixth through 10^th will earn Second Team honors and the runners who come across in 11^th through 15^th will be named to the Third Team. In past years, the top seven runners earned First Team All-Conference honors and the runners who finished eighth through 14^th were named to the Second Team.