MONMOUTH, Ore.--The Western Oregon men's cross country team and top runner Ethan Bothwell sped to victory on their home course at the Mike Johnson Classic on Saturday morning at the Ash Creek Preserve.

On the team front, the Wolves cruised to the win with 27 team points, 38 points ahead of runner-up Alaska Anchorage. Bothwell, a fourth-year WOU standout from Hillsboro, won for the first time in his collegiate career with an 8K time of 24:08, ahead of Northwest Nazarene's Luke Stockett (24:13). 

Bothwell had support right behind him. Matthew Resnik finished third (24:26), Remedan Seman was fourth (24:28) and Zander Campell crossed the line seventh (24:50). Logan Parker rounded out the Wolves scoring in 12th (25:17). 

"Ethan Bothwell had a fantastic day and ran a very calculated race to get his first collegiate win," said Wolves head coach Zachary Holloway. "The team showed the depth of this group right now and ran very strong against some historically competitive GNAC teams." 

The Wolves beat three GNAC teams in the race including UAA. Northwest Nazarene was third with 92 points and Seattle Pacific was eighth (237). There were 12 total teams in the field. 

The WOU women were the second Division II team on the scoreboard. The Wolves finished fifth overall with 166 points behind the University of Oregon (18), the University of Portland (40), Oregon State (79) and Northwest Nazarene (134). They were one point in front of Seattle Pacific (167).

Kyla Potratz was the top Wolves runner in 16th place with a time of 21:31 on the 6K course. Adele Beckstead was the next WOU runner in 30th place (22:01). 

The Ducks had the top four runners in the race, led by winner Juliet Cherubet (18:36).

"The ladies ran in an extremely competitive MJC field," Holloway said. "A handful of ladies stepped up big for the group and we had a tight battle with a couple fellow GNAC programs. This is a very young team that is getting better and better as we go this fall. We are looking forward to some out of region competition in 2 weeks."

Both squads will head to Romeoville, Illinois on October 10 for the highly competitive Lewis Invitational. Many of the top Division II teams in the country will compete in the event.