Complete Results

SALEM, Ore.  – No. 2 Northwest Christian University remained undefeated and toppled No. 1 University of British Columbia on Saturday, easily claiming victory at the Charles Bowles Invitational. Two NCU runners hit major personal records, beating the NCU school record in the process.
 
The Beacons proved to be unrivaled once again, owning the 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 9th scoring spots to collect an astoundingly low score of 27 points. British Columbia, the four-time defending NAIA National Champions, scored 88 points to finish a distant third.
 
Junior Alyssa Harmon was up to her old tricks which this time included a new school record with a time of 17:34. She was ten seconds ahead of her previous personal best while defeating the old school record by two seconds. Harmon was second overall but was the top collegiate finisher for the third straight race.
 
Not to be outdone, Sierra Brown also broke Ally Manley's previous school record by one second, running a 17:35 to take third place. Brown also claimed a significant personal improvement, beating her old PR by 28 seconds.
 
While the top of the Beacon lineup is arguably the best in the NAIA, the true strength of NCU lies in its depth, which was on display once again. Junior Michelle Fletcher cruised to a personal record with a run of 18:04, sophomore Rosa Schmidt bumped her PR with an 18:05 and Shea Vallaire came in at 18:08 to give the Beacons five runners in the top-ten among collegiate finishers.
 
Macie Gale was also among the runners to set personal records, taking 32nd place with a time of 18:56. In fact, all five other runners also hit personal records including Anna Brooks (19:04), Melissa Rios (19:04), Molly Gwinn (19:43), Natalie Kogutkiewicz (19:52) and Emily Moon (19:54).

Noteworthy: Had the women taken part in the "Cardinal" race, which features the NCAA DI, DII, and DIII schools, the Beacon results would have placed the team at or near the top, right along side DI power Portland State. 
 
The Beacons will return to action in two weeks when they "A" squad will travel to the Inland Empire Challege in Lewiston, Idaho while the "B" squad visits Oregon City for the Mike Hodges Invitational.