Results

ESTACADA, Ore. — Noah Friedrich finished inside the top while three Lutes clocked personal best times as the Pacific Lutheran University men's cross country team shook off the rust at the Lewis & Clark Opener on Friday to begin the 2026 racing season.

"It's always exciting to get the season officially kicked off with the first race. For me, it's the first real indicator of fitness coming off summer training. I know there was some uncertainty from both teams about how they would stack up against our competition, but I was pleased with the efforts," said Head Coach Francis Reynolds. 
 
Friedrich was the first Lute across the finish line at McIver State Park, navigating the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 41.9 seconds. Isaiah Bradley was 35 overall in 17:05.2 with Justin Garrett three spots back in 38th after stopping the clock in 17:36.9.

Corban Piper, Jonah Andrews, and Caleb Rigney all recorded personal best times at the 5K distance to open the season. Piper was 40th in 17:54.6, shaving off almost a half-minute off his previous best while Andrews was 42nd in 18:18.4. It was Andrews' best cross country 5K time by a slim 0.2 margin. Rigney knocked 34 seconds off his collegiate 5K best, placing 44th in 18:27.2. 

"Noah did a really good job mixing it up with some D-1 competition. Corban was aggressive early in the race, and I think he's in a good spot to be a solid contributor for us this season. Caleb ran a gutsy race and I can see the dividends of his summer training."
 
Portland State University's Ari Smith won the race, touring the course in 15:01.7. 
 
The Lutes finished fifth in the team standings, scoring 141 points. Host Lewis & Clark College won the meet, scoring 33 points with all five of its scoring runners in the top 11. Lewis-Clark State College was runner-up with 45 points while Division I Portland State University was one point back in third.
 
"I'm excited to put in a couple of weeks of good training and really show out at the PLU Invitational in two weeks."

Pacific Lutheran takes next weekend off before racing at the 8,000-meter distance for the first time on Sept. 19, hosting the annual PLU Invitational.