Oct. 25, 2006

CROSS COUNTRY: Lutes to host NWC Championship

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts the Northwest Conference Championship, University Golf Course, Saturday, 10 a.m.

WHAT’S ON TAP: The Pacific Lutheran cross country team will be hosting the Northwest Conference harriers this weekend at the conference championship. All nine conference schools will bring their varsity runners to the PLU campus golf course where the men’s 8000-meter race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and the women’s 6000-meter race at 11 a.m.

MORE ON THE NWC CHAMPIONSHIP: Since the first Northwest Conference men’s race in 1963, Willamette has won 16 championships with seven of those coming from 1976-1982. Pacific Lutheran is second with 12 titles, followed by Lewis and Clark with six, Puget Sound with four, Whitman with three, and Linfield and Whitworth with two each. The first women’s Northwest Conference meet was held in 1977, and Pacific Lutheran has won the most team titles with 13, including 11 in a row from 1981-92. Willamette has the second most with five, all of them coming in the last six years. Linfield won four straight from 1977-80, and Puget Sound also has four, including three in a row in the late 1990s. Whitman has three championship trophies, all of them coming in the 1990s. Willamette is the defending conference champs on both the men and women’s side and both teams are currently ranked in the top 15 in the nation.

LUTE WOMEN: After a very disappointing ninth-place finish in conference last year, the Lutes are looking for a much better performance from this year's squad. The team has been led by the foursome of junior Lauren McDonald, sophomore Lexie Miller, sophomore Michele Hegg and freshman Katie Choate. All of them have had a first-place finish for the team in the past four races. The crucial fifth spot on the team will be a battle between junior Chelsea Berdahl and first-year runner Heather Brook. They were within half-second of each other at the last race and are both looking to set huge PRs this weekend.

LUTE MEN: After finishing eighth in the conference that last two seasons, the Lute harriers are trying to prevent a three-peat. Being led by junior Kenneth Chilcoat all season, this team feels like it could finish in the middle of the pack. “We haven’t beat a NWC team all season but with the return of some key runners we think we might be able to mix things up a bit,” said Chilcoat. Sophomore Ben Hollander and transfer student Mark Manske have both returned to the squad after being sidelined for a few weeks due to illness. The freshman trio of Matt Beal, Tony Horton, and John Pedack are all hoping to be in PLU's top five this weekend as they compete in their first NWC Championship.

- PLU -