TACOMA, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College women's cross country senior Malia Heien finished fifth overall and third among Northwest Conference runners, to lead the Pioneers on Saturday morning at the Pacific Lutheran University Invitational. 

THE BASICS
 
Women's Cross Country – 9^th out of 11 Teams – 233 Points 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Heien put together her best performance of the young season on Saturday, as she finished fifth out of 135 runners and just 0.2 seconds behind George Fox University's Breanna Schmitt for second place among NWC runners. 
 
Saturday's race was an NWC Preview as all nine Northwest Conference teams traveled to Tacoma to race on the PLU Meadows Course that will host the NWC Championship in November. The Pioneers were missing one of their top runners for a second-straight week, as senior Miriam Reside did not race on Saturday. 
 
Heien, who missed last week's Ash Creek Collegiate Meet, finished in the top-five for the first time this season. She posted a time of 22:31.5 in the team's first 6K race of the season. Heien finished just behind Schmitt (22:31.3) in a photo-finish for fourth and fifth places. 
 
Sophomore Talia Tomhave finished second on the team for the first time in her collegiate career. Tomhave posted a time of 25:48.0 to place 69^th overall. 
 
Senior Emogene Lutz, junior Skylar Willow and sophomore Maeva Conroy crossed the line back-to-back-to-back to finish as the team's final three scorers. Lutz and Willow posted identical times of 26:08.9 to finish 82^ndand 83^rd. Conroy was just behind the pair, as she took 84^th in 26:09.7. 
 
Junior Melissa Zurla was the next Pioneer to come across. She finished in 103^rd place with a time of 27:17.6. 
 
First year Tesla Curtis placed 113^th overall with a mark of 28:09.9. 
 
Fellow first year Katherine Scannell posted a time of 30:41.1 to finish in 124^th place. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Heien finished in fifth place for a second-straight year at the PLU Invitational. Last season, she finished fourth among NWC runners and over 30 seconds behind Schmitt. 
• Zurla posted a PR time over 6K. She beat her previous career-best time, set at the Linfield George Oja Invitational in 2023, by 66 seconds. 
• Curtis and Scannell each ran their first collegiate 6K races on Saturday. 
• George Fox University finished first in the team standings with 38 points. The Evergreen State College's Alauna Carstens took first place in the individual standings with a time of 21:19.9. George Fox graduate student transfer Emily Foote finished first among NWC runners and second overall with a time of 21:50.5. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will be off next week, before traveling to Salem for the Charles Bowels Invitational on Saturday, October 4.