SALEM, Ore.--- Nick Brichta continues to impress early in his Lumberjack career, as the credential candidate finished fourth in a time of 24:30 over the 8k distance to help lead the Jacks to a fourth place team finish out of 17 scoring teams at the 47th Charles Bowles Willamette Invitational at Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday morning.
"That was a really great race for Nick," head cross country coach Jamey Harris said. "He ran really smart and it paid off. Luis Sandoval and Carson Cohn also ran very well today."
Humboldt's four remaining scorers finished within 10 seconds of each other. Sebastian Vaisset-Fauvel (43rd, 25:46) led the charge, followed by Ricardo Torres (47th, 25:54), Carson Cohn (48th, 25:56) and Luis Sandoval (49th, 25:56). Carson Smith (50th, 25:56) and Mica Mills (64th, 26:22) rounded out the top seven for Humboldt.
As a team, the Jacks finished behind Division I opponent and team champion University of Portland, and NAIA foes no. 6 Eastern Oregon and no. 25 Oregon Tech. The Jacks finished only 12 points behind the Owls to finish fourth on the day and were 11 points clear of fifth place Seattle University.
On the women's side, Rosa Granados secured a 10th place finish to lead the Lumberjacks to an eighth place team finish. Granados traversed the 5k course in 18:22. Saedy Williamson (35th, 19:13), Reese Sion (44th, 19:24), Emilie Cates (80th, 20:23) and Sophie Smith (83rd, 20:30) rounded out the scoring for the Jacks.
"This isn't the best we can do, but it's a nice positive step," Harris said. "Reese and Emilie really came through for us today and Sophie, Jess and Serena gave us really good efforts. We're building some positive momentum."
The Jacks will take next weekend off before sending a squad to the flat and fast Bronco Invitational at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. on Saturday, Oct. 15.
