TACOMA, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College men's cross country placed second out of 12 teams on Saturday afternoon at a Northwest Conference Championship Preview meet. 
 
THE BASICS
 
Men's Cross Country – 2^nd place out of 12 teams – 87 Points 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Junior Quinn Higgins finished fourth overall and third among NWC runners and the Pioneers placed three runners inside the top-16, to barely edge Whitworth University (89 points) for second place. 
 
Saturday's Pacific Lutheran Invitational was a de facto Northwest Conference Championship Preview. All nine NWC schools traveled to Tacoma to race on the course that will host the NWC Championship in November. 
 
Higgins recorded the best finish of his collegiate career on Saturday. He crossed the finish line in 25:31.1 to place fourth by over seven seconds. 
 
Juniors Emil Miller and Evan Markelz finished back-to-back in 15^th and 16^th overall. Miller took 15^th place with a time of 26:17.3. Markelz was just behind him in 16^th overall with a mark of 26:22.8. 
 
Junior Sam Garcia placed fourth on the team. He finished in 27^th place, when he crossed the line in 26:39.7. 
 
Senior Theron Plumb finished as one of the team's five scorers for the second time in three meets. Plumb registered a time of 27:58.3 to place 60^th overall. 
 
First year Knox Orchard finished sixth on the team and 76^th overall. He notched a time of 28:28.6 in his first collegiate 8K. 
 
Sophomore AJ Gibbs and junior Jordan Wu were the next two runners in Orange and Black to finish. Gibbs took 90^th place with a mark of 28:47.2. Wu crossed the line in 28:58.9 to place 95^th overall. 
 
Junior John Blockhus placed ninth on the team. He finished in 29:14.2 to place 104^th overall. 
 
First year Miles Samant made his collegiate debut on Saturday. He recorded a time of 30:23.1 to place 127^th. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Higgins finished in the top-five of a cross country race for the first time in his collegiate career on Saturday. His fourth-place finish is two spots better than his two career sixth-place results at the Ash Creek Collegiate Invite (2024, 2025). He has now finished in the top-seven in all three of his races this Fall. 
• Plumb improved upon his time from last year's PLU Invitational by 21.30 seconds. Wu shaved off 9.7 seconds. 
• Samant (first collegiate race) and Orchard each raced their first collegiate 8Ks on Saturday. It was the team's first 8K of the year. 
• George Fox University finished first in the team standings with 37 points. Whitworth University's London Haley (24:54.6) edged Whitman College's Jack McManus (25:02) for first in the individual standings.  

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