Results
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Three Lutes finished within three seconds of each other on Saturday, resulting in one personal best and one season best as the Pacific Lutheran University men's cross country squad placed 18th in the team standings at Whitworth University's Frank Knott Classic.
Justin Garrett led the way on Saturday at The Course, navigating the 8,000-meter layout in a personal best time of 27 minutes. 57.3 seconds to place 159th overall and 108th among scoring runners.
Isaiah Bradley was four spots back in 163rd place, entering the finisher's chute in a season-best time of 27:59.5.
Noah Friederich was less than a half second behind Bradley, crossing the line 165th overall in 27:59.9.
Corban Piper was 177th in 28:36.2 with
Jonah Andrews rounding out the scoring runners, finishing 198thoverall in 29:59.4 with
Caleb Rigney close behind in 30:14.7.
"Another great day of racing. The Course is a fantastic venue, and we look forward to coming back here. We were excited to face all but one of the NWC teams and see how we stacked up four weeks out from the conference championships," said Head Coach
Francis Reynolds.
"Pack running was the name of the game. Our top three guys ran the second half of the race together, which was great to see them helping each other out in the latter stages of the race. We're glad Justin broke 28 minutes and we look forward to him continuing to progress. The guys now know what the rest of the conference competition looks like, so we'll be prepared to battle in the weeks ahead."
The Lutes finished 18th overall at the meet featuring squads from Division I, Division III, NAIA, and junior college ranks. PLU's 568 points was 27 shy of Northwest Conference rival Linfield University.
Division I Montana State University won the meet with four of the top five runners, scoring 20 points with the Bobcats' Sam Ells winning the race in 23:42.8.
Saturday's meet was held at the same site that will host the 2026 NCAA Division III West Region Championships in six weeks on Nov. 14.
