RESULTS

McMINNVILLE, Ore.  – The 2026 Bushnell Men's Cross Country team opened the season at the Linfield Harrier Classic on Friday morning, taking ninth-place in a 13-team field.
 
The finish is a positive step forward for the program, as they finished third among four Cascade Collegiate Conference teams at the race. No. 7-ranked College of Idaho took second place in the race behind NCAA Division I power University of Portland, followed by Evergreen State in seventh and the Beacons in ninth. No. 6-ranked Corban, who sent their "B" team to the race, took 11th place.
 
Head Coach Kyle Will said, "Overall I was pleased for how we did in our first race of the season. We definitely saw a different mindset with our men and we are in a better place than I even thought we would be especially this early. They showed fight and a competitive spirit. Our pacing was decent, but showed us where we need to work."

The top four finishers for the Beacons were all freshmen, followed by a transfer in the five scoring positions. Leading the way was Luke Phillips (pictured, left) who finished the 6000-meter course in 19 minutes, 44.6 seconds.
 
Sawyer Miller came in at No. 59 (20:18.0) followed by Hunter Davis (pictured, right) in 87th (20:53.2), Josiah Swick in 96th (21:04.9) and junior Ben Carter in 123rd (21:40.4).
 
Miller said, "I think everyone pushed very hard and performed beyond what was expected for it still being early in the season, even with some guys coming off sickness and injury. We are definitely excited to see what is still possible."
 
The remainder of the Bushnell contingent was filled out with Ben Patterson (127th, 21:49.2), Wyatt Pepiot (139th, 22:40.9), James Bechtol (144th, 23:12.6), Jackson Engstrom (151st, 24:06.0) and Andrew Thurman (153rd, 25:10.0).
 
Up Next: The Beacons return to action in one week, traveling to Monmouth, Oregon for the Ash Creek Collegiate on Friday at 5:00 pm.