Lutes Travel to Oregon for Lewis & Clark Invitational

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran at Lewis & Clark Invitational, Saturday, 11 a.m.

FRESHMAN LEADS THE WAY: Freshman Suzy Olsen finished first among collegiate runners at the Saint Martin's Invitational. Olsen finished the 6,000-meter course in a time of 23:56.9, with only unattached runner Karen Steen finishing ahead of the Lutes' first-year runner from Everett.

PLU WOMEN TAKE ST. MARTIN'S INVITATIONAL TITLE: Junior Mary Wuest finished fourth overall, third among collegians, in a time of 24:48.4, as Pacific Lutheran defeated host Saint Martin's for the team title. The Lutes finished with 36 points, followed by Saint Martin's with 48, Puget Sound with 53 and Evergreen State with 93. Northwest University also competed but did not have a complete team. The remainder of the top seven for the PLU women were as follows: Katie Gebert, ninth, 24:59.7; Erica Johnson, 17th, 26:13.9; Chiara Rose-Witt, 18th, 26:22.0; Kayley Turner, 19th, 26:26.12; and Sarah McDade, 22nd, 26:35.5. Of those top seven, Olsen, Gebert, Rose-Witt, Turner and McDade are all first-year runners for the Lutes.

LUTE MEN FINISH IN SECOND: In the men's race, Saint Martin's scored 32 points, followed by PLU with 49, Puget Sound with 55 and Evergreen State with 100. Lutes sophomore Sean Andrascik made up a lot of ground in the final half of the 8,000-meter race to clock 27:30.7 and lead his team with a ninth-place effort. Andrascik's strong kick down the stretch allowed him to pass teammate John Phillips, who placed 10th with a time of 27:33.7. Freshman Kolter Grigsby had a strong first meet for PLU, placing 14th in a time of 28:44.5. Rounding out the top seven were the following: Orion Bras, 16th, 28:48.8; Barrett Bollen, 18th, 28:53.6; Nathan Page, 21st, 29:06.8; and Nate Allen-Slaba, 29:33.7.

LEWIS & CLARK INVITATIONAL NEXT: Pacific Lutheran returns to action on Saturday when it competes in the Lewis & Clark Invitational at McIver State Park in Estacada, Ore. This race will be the first real test for both the Lutes women and men against Northwest Conference opponents as a number of the NWC teams are expected to compete. At last Saturday's Saint Martin's Invitational, both the PLU women and men finished ahead of Puget Sound, the only other NWC team at that that race.

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