Anneliese Anderson-Caffee

Cross Country Ready to Open New Era on Saturday

By Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

It will be a new look for the Pacific Lutheran University men’s and women’s cross country teams this fall with Francis Reynolds taking the reigns as interim head coach of the two programs.

Both programs finished seventh overall at the Northwest Conference Championships last fall at the race held at Oak Knoll Golf Course in Independence, Oregon. This year, the Lutes will get to enjoys the comforts of home, serving as the host school for the 2025 NWC Championships for the first time since 2015.

I see cross country as an exciting sport that creates an excellent meeting ground for distance runners from the spring. I know we’ve got a lot of runners that are primarily mid-distance runners so for them it’s an opportunity to gain some strength and run some longer distances in the fall. I’m looking forward to them getting strong and incorporating some of that mid-distance speed they developed in the spring, and really bring our best foot forward when we host the conference championships on November 1st.

Interim Head Coach Francis Reynolds

Reynolds is no stranger to the Tacoma and the Northwest Conference, competing as a student-athlete at crosstown rival University of Puget Sound where he won two NWC titles (2008 and 2009) and was a two-time All-American in cross country while winning an NWC title in the 10,000-meters in 2009. After graduation, Reynolds coached at his alma mater along with Meeker Middle School and Annie Wright Upper School.

“It’s really interesting because both the men and women run distances that they don’t run any time in the spring. For women, it’s a little similar to high school, where it’s just a kilometer extra, but still a different race. For the men, it takes a while to learn how to run a good 8K, and I think considering the first meet is just a 5K for both genders, there’s really only three opportunities to run those normal race distances. So I really want to check in with my teams and say after each race: ‘what were some things that you learned about that distance?’

“It doesn’t matter if they’re a first year or a senior, there’s always ways to learn how to race those distances and things that can be improved upon. So again, if we can reflect on our races in September and October, we’ll put on a good show in November.”

2025 Men's Roster

Kai Sorensen winning 800 title at NWC Champs

The men’s squad returns four of its top five runners from a season ago but has a big hole to fill after the graduation of All-West Region selection Owen Ladinig.

“We’ve got a fit roster. They’ve definitely been putting in the work over the summer and I’m impressed with some of the upperclassmen that are coming in and running some high mileage over the summer.”

“We’ve got some good returners and I’m pleased to see what the young bucks can do this Saturday.”

Kai Sorensen is the top Lute returner, logging a 24th place finish at the 2024 NWC Championships and placing 64th at the West Region Championships in Estacada, Oregon to finish out the year. The senior and Sacramento, California native went on to have a banner spring on the track, winning the NWC title in the 800-meters in late April.

Joining Sorensen is Daniel Zimmer and Corban Piper who both set 8K personal bests last fall at the West Region meet. A Ridgefield, Washington native, Zimmer finished the region meet in 27 minutes, 24.8 seconds before racing five times during the spring track season, including competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NWC Championships.

A Rapid City, South Dakota native, Corban Piper made an immediate impact in his first season as a Lute, finishing 66th at the NWC cross country meet. Piper raced nine times during the spring track season, including competing in the 800-meters at the conference meet.

Also returning is Noah Friedrich and Jonathan Ochoa who both have experience racing at the NWC and West Region Championships along with Tacoma native Jonah Andrews who raced at the NWC meet last November.

The Lutes have four first years on the roster and three are in-state recruits. Isaiah Bradley joins the Lutes from Longview, Washington, Justin Garrett comes from Port Angeles, Washington while Caleb Rigney is from nearby Spanaway, Washington. Corder Janes is the lone out of state first-year, hailing from Juneau, Alaska.

I’ve been impressed with Isaiah. First workout went in there and hung with the big boys and it looks like he doesn’t have any fear to mix it up. That’s kind of what you want to see as a coach, where even if you make a mistake, you’re willing to go for it.

When you come in as a freshman there’s a big learning curve, academically, socially, and the training volume. I think they’ll surprise themselves.

2025 Women's Roster

A senior heavy team a season ago, the women’s team is very young heading into the 2025 season with 10 of the 15 student-athletes underclassmen.

It’s a lot of young blood. What I’m hoping is that I can learn from the returners about what worked well for them and pass that on to the first-years. That we can take a recipe that has had success with a few individuals and year after year impart that on to new classes.

Sal Mattivi is the top returner from a season ago. The Bremerton, Washington native had a breakout season as a first-year, finishing 22nd at the NWC Championships in a 6K personal best time of 23:11.6 before finishing 64th at the West Region meet. On the track, Mattivi had early success, finishing fifth in the 1,500-meters at the PLU Spring Invitational before being sidelined for the rest of the spring.

Jessalyn Robles is the only other return from the scoring five from a season ago. Originally a member of the PLU women’s soccer team, the Tacoma native made her cross country debut last fall and it was a good one, competing for the team at the conference and region meet and closing the year with a PR in the 6K at the West region meet. Robles competed in shorter distances in the spring, racing in the 800-meters and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay at the conference meet.

Federal Way, Washington native Natalie Moran-Padilla and Tacoma native Rachel Rosario both competed at the regional and conference championships last fall while Tacoma’s Lili Andres-Juarez and El Paso, Texas native Adalia Olmos have experience racing at the regional and conference meets in fall of 2023.

The Lutes boast five first-years on the team this fall with all five coming from the Evergreen State. Theresa Boulay and Mariel Robles hail from Tacoma while Piper Gannon is from Ridgefield. Cassidy Kauppila joins the Lutes from Gig Harbor while Maddie Mitchell comes to Luteville from Federal Way.

I’ve been impressed with Maddie. Despite admitting to being somewhat undertrained this summer but has took on a good deal of volume the first week and is rearing to go. I’m excited to see what she can do in a familiar 5K on Saturday and then gradually increase her volume and get her ready for some 6Ks.

The Lutes open the season on Saturday at the Puget Sound Invitational, one of just four meets before the 2025 NWC Championships.

“I’m approaching the opening meet as an information gathering opportunity. I encourage runners to push their limits, even if it means potentially overextending themselves. The main goal is identifying our competitive racers— those who thrive in race situations beyond what we see in daily practice.”

PLU will be hosting two meets this fall, welcoming teams from around the region to the PLU Invitational on Sept. 20 while hosting the NWC Championships on Nov. 1. Between those two meets, the Lutes will compete in Walla Walla, Washington at the Whitman Open and in Salem, Oregon at the George Oja Invitational.

2025 Schedule