ESTACADA, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College senior
Malia Heien finished 14
th overall, and first among NCAA DIII runners, to lead women's cross country on Friday morning at Milo McIver State Park.
THE BASICS
Women's Cross Country – 9
th out of 12 Teams – 235 Points
HOW IT HAPPENED
Heien finished nearly a minute ahead of the second NCAA DIII runner, to kick off the start of her senior season. In her first race as the new number one runner on the team, Heien proved herself up to the task against a loaded field of four NCAA DI schools (Oregon State University, Boise State University, Portland State University and the University of Portland) and one nationally-ranked D3 side (George Fox University). The senior ranked 16
th after the opening 1K and would move up to 14
th at the 4K mark and would cross the line 14
th overall. She finished the race in 18:35.92.
Senior
Miriam Reside placed second on the team. Fresh off the best track season of her career, she finished in 49
th place. Reside sat 64
th after the opening 1K but moved into the mid 40s throughout the race and ended 49
th overall. Reside notched a time of 20:33.58.
Junior
Skylar Willow steadily moved up from 79
th to as high as 65
th at the finish line. The junior finished third on the team and posted a time of 21:09.17.
Senior
Emogene Lutz returned to action after going abroad during the track season in the Spring. She delivered a 76
th-place finish to end the race fourth on the team. Lutz came across in 21:48.08.
Sophomores
Maeva Conroy and
Talia Tomhave finished back-to-back in 80
th and 81
st places. Conroy sat 92
nd after the first kilometer but steadily moved up in the field and passed a number of runners in the final straightway to finish in 22:08.91. Tomhave started the race in 69
th place after 1K, fell back to 81
st at the 2K mark and held her place to come across in 22:09.54.
Junior
Nadia Cota finished the day in seventh on the team. She notched a time of 22:54.15 to place 95
th overall.
Junior
Melissa Zurla posted a 99
th-place showing. She registered a time of 23:10.90.
First year
Tesla Curtis made her collegiate debut in the race. She came in just behind Zurla in 101
st overall. Curtis recorded a time of 24:28.85 in her first collegiate race.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Reside placed second on the team for the first time in her career. She scored points in the lineup for the first time since the 2023 NCAA DIII Regional Championship Meet (November 11) when she placed fifth on the team.
- Zurla competed in her first collegiate 5K cross country race and her first cross country race since the 2023 NWC Championship Meet on October 28, 2023.
- The Pioneers raced on a 5K course for the first time since last year's Ash Creek Collegiate Invite. Heien, Reside and Lutz all beat their 5K times from a year ago. Reside improved her time by nearly 90 seconds.
- Lutz scored points for Lewis & Clark for the first time since September 8, 2023. She finished fourth on the team at the Ash Creek Collegiate Invite in her first race of the 2023 season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will be off next weekend, before traveling to Western Oregon University for the Ash Creek Collegiate Meet on Friday, September 12.
