Tacoma, Wash.– The George Fox Bruins men’s and women’s teams both successfully defended their Northwest Conference titles at the 2025 NWC Cross Country Championships. The men claimed their seventh consecutive title on the Pacific Lutheran XC Meadows Course today, while the women secured their fifth consecutive title.
The Championship meet– hosted by the Pacific Lutheran Lutes– showcased the talented runners of the Northwest Conference and in classic Pacific Northwest wind and rain. The men’s 8,000-meter race kicked off the day at 10 AM, and came down to a two-man battle between Whitworth’s London Haley and Puget Sound’s Cian Monaghan. Haley and Monaghan led the pack for the duration of the race, with Monaghan ultimately pulling ahead to claim the men’s title with a final time of 25:16.2. Whitworth’s London Haley finished close behind with a time of 25:21.2, while in third place was Caden Hildenbrand of George Fox (25:40.7).
In fourth place and Whitworth’s second runner to cross the line was senior Isaac Akiyama, finishing with a time of 25:44.2. Following close behind was a George Fox duo of Andrew Dewar (25:53.8) and Kellen Ruiz (25:57.9). In seventh place and the Willamette Bearcat’s top runner was Thomas Bernadicou, running a time of 26:02.8, helping to earn the Bearcats their highest team score since 2017. Lewis & Clark’s Quinn Higgins and Sam Garcia were the next down the chute, finishing in eighth (26:03.1) and ninth (26:07.0) respectively. Rounding out the top ten was sophomore Nate Hamilton of George Fox, running a time of 26:10.3.
The final team scores were: George Fox 37, Whitworth 77, Willamette 92, Lewis & Clark 102, Whitman 120, Puget Sound 148, Pacific (Ore.) 152, Pacific Lutheran 220, and Linfield 272.
Monaghan was named the NWC Men’s Runner of the Meet, while George Fox’s Andrew Dewar was named NWC Rookie of the Meet. George Fox head coach Mike Wilson was recognized by his peers as the NWC Men’s Coach of the Year.
In the women’s 6,000-meter race, graduate transfer Emily Foote of George Fox dominated the course, finishing with a first place time of 22:02.7, just under a 40-second lead over the next finisher. In second place was Whitworth’s Lily Jones, finishing with a time of 22:41.5. Whitworth teammate Kezlie Thygesen followed close behind in third place, running a time of 22:46.1.
Claiming the fourth place position was sophomore Ella Harrington of Whitman (22:48.8), while George Fox’s Hope Bridge finished out the top five with a 22:54.3 finish. In sixth came Willamette’s Anna Bikle running a time of (22:57.1), while seventh place was claimed by Ashlyn Dary of Whitworth (23:05.8). A pair of Pacific Boxer runners placed eighth and ninth respectively; Megan Feitz running a time of 23:08.8 and Ria Gill close behind with a time of 23:10.6. Rounding out the top ten finishers was Lewis & Clark’s Malia Heien, running a time of 23:12.7.
Final scores for the women’s race were: George Fox 41, Whitworth 61, Pacific (Ore.) 72, Puget Sound 87, Whitman 133, Lewis & Clark 150, Pacific Lutheran 199, and Linfield 256. Willamette did not field a full team, thus not in scoring position.
Foote earned the title of NWC Women’s Runner of the Meet, while fellow teammate Sara Marino was awarded NWC Women’s Rookie of the Year. Mike Wilson achieved a clean sweep with the Women’s Coach of the Year honors.
The teams will take a two-week break before competing in Claremont, Calif. for the NCAA Division III West Region Championships on November 15th.