MONMOUTH, Ore. – Battling a tough weather day, Miguel Villar was the first one across to lead the Western Oregon University men's cross country team to a tenth place finish at the NCAA Division II West Regionals on Saturday at Ash Creek Preserve. Villar came in 28th, just missing out on an All-West Region spot in the 10K race.
"For us to post top-10 finishes for both teams is a good way to start building for our future," head coach Octavious Gillespie-Bennett said. "Weather was tough, but athletes worked hard and gave great effort. I'm very proud of what we have accomplished this season."
The weather was certainly a challenge. Right before the start of the men's race, the weather turned and went from heavy rain to even some hail. Throughout the race was a steady rain and wind that all runners fought through to post solid results.
Villar led the way for the Wolves when he posted a time of 31:43.9 to come in 28th overall and 26th in scoring. He was just a few spots out of earning an All-West Region accolade, as the top-25 earn the award.
Keanu Daos followed Villar when he came in 52nd with a time of 32:16.5 (48th in scoring). Bailey Smith crossed at 32:40.0 to come in 70th(66th in scoring). Timothy Rambo wasn't too far behind when he came in 88th with a time of 33:07.9 (83rd in scoring). Dustyn Mckenney crossed in 111th (106th in scoring), Cedar Davis-Frankfort came in 135th (128th in scoring) and Emmett Klus started for the Wolves but didn't finish.
Chico State won the team title with 47 points, with Fresno Pacific coming in second with 109 points and Cal Poly Pomona just edging out Azusa Pacific for third with 138 points to 139 for the Cougars as the top-three teams advance to nationals. Western Oregon tallied 329 points to come in tenth. The Wolves bested GNAC schools Alaska Anchorage, Montana State Billings, Central Washington, Saint Martin's and Northwest Nazarene. Alaska Fairbanks didn't have enough runners to post a team score. WOU entered the week ranked 10th in the West Region.
Fresno Pacific's Patrick Kiprop rolled to the individual title when he crossed at 30:12.6, more than 42 seconds ahead of the field.
This year's result for the Wolves is a few places ahead of the 2019 finish when WOU came in 13th on Ash Creek Preserve.
