CLAREMONT, Calif.—Juniors Quinn Higgins and Sam Garcia finished back-to-back in 52^nd and 53^rd place, to lead Lewis & Clark College men's cross country on Saturday morning at the NCAA DIII West Regional Championship Meet. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
Men's Cross Country – 15^th out of 23 Teams – 380 Points
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Three Pioneers finished inside the top-80 to pace men's cross country on Saturday morning on the Pomona-Pitzer course. 
 
Higgins and Garcia finished within two seconds of each other. Higgins sat inside the top-15 through the first 2.6 miles. He dipped to 23^rd at the 3.3 mile spot and eventually crossed the line in 52^nd place with a time of 26:44.6. 
 
Garcia took a different approach as he sat 81^st overall at the first check point. He would slowly move up the field and would crack the top-60 after 3.3 miles. Garcia would eventually finish 53^rd overall with a time of 26:46.4. 
 
Junior Emil Miller was the third Lewis & Clark runner to cross the finish line. Miller sat 120^th at the first check point but would move up at each of the next seven markers. He cracked the top-100 after two miles and broke into the top-80 after 4.8 miles. He would finish 78^th overall with a final time of 27:08.7. 
 
Sophomore AJ Gibbs put together one of his best races of the season to finish fourth on the team. Gibbs moved up with almost every checkpoint. He started 133^rd, moved up as high as 102^nd, and came across in 105^th place. Gibbs finished the race in 27:43.3. 
 
Senior Theron Plumb finished as the team's fifth and final scorer and 117^th overall. He hit the first marker in 57^th place but quickly settled in and sat 112nd after two miles. Plumb would run in the same pack the rest of the way and would cross the line in 28:04.7. 
 
Junior Colin Shimabukuro placed sixth on the team. A year after missing out due to an injury in warmups, Shimabukuro ran a consistent race. He sat 109^th at the 1K mark, dipped to 120^th midway through and place 126^th overall. He crossed the line in 28:29.5. 
 
First year Knox Orchard made his collegiate Regional debut on Saturday. He placed 134^th overall with a time of 28:49.2. Orchard hit the first checkpoint in 132^nd place, moved up as high as 119^th and crossed the line in 134^th overall. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Gibbs' time of 27:43.3 was the second-best time of his season. He also posted a career-best finish at Regionals after placing 111^th last year. 
• Garcia (previously 77^th), Miller (previously 81^st) and Plumb (previously 128^th) also beat their career-best finishes at Regionals. 
• The Pioneers finished fifth among NWC teams and 15^th overall. They finished just one point behind Occidental College (379 points). Lewis & Clark bounced between 14^th and 16^th during the race. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark expects to return the majority of their team next Fall. Plumb was the only senior member of the team the Pioneers sent to Regionals.