VANCOUVER, Wash. - What an incredible day for the Clark College Penguins at the NWAC Southern Regionals! Everything that the Penguins could have hoped for played out perfectly for them on the course at Clackamas Community College.  When the sun finally came out for the awards ceremony, it was the Clark College Penguins who had the shine on them. The Women's team finished as Southern Region Champions and the men were runners-up. In a year where there have been a lot of great performances, the Penguins saved their best for the right time of year! The confidence that this race put into Clark will be a big boost as they prepare for the NWAC Championships in two weeks. 

For the first time all season, the Women were the first on the course which set the tone for the day. What didn't change was Mia Beightol at the front of the pack with teammate Dani Buttrell right with her. Though on paper there appeared to be challengers to the Penguin dynamic duo from Lane and Clackamas runners, the pair pulled away from any such possibilities to make it a Penguins only race for the Regional Championship. Although it was once again Beightol who eventually broke away for the win, Buttrell ran 19:07 herself to set a new personal best and finished as a very worthy runner-up.

"It's so fun to watch those two run side by side," said Penguin coach Owen Frasier. "I know Dani wants to win just as badly as Mia, but the thing that really makes Dani special is that she's the first to congratulate Mia at the finish line, and you can tell she's genuinely happy for Mia every time. Dani is an incredible teammate."

The day belonged to Beightol, still, as the freshman ran a new personal best of 18:35 to shatter her previous record by almost thirty seconds. The time puts her now #4 on the all-time Penguin Top Ten list for the 5-kilometer distance.

"Mia just continues to find another level," Frasier explained. "We were very clear from the beginning that we didn't want to put any sort of expectations on her for how fast she could run or what times she should be shooting for. We've really just encouraged her to race to the best of her ability and see what happens. To her credit, she really embraced the idea and trusted that her coaches would have her ready. We are so proud of her."

The great performances didn't end there on a day where all nine Penguin women set new season bests. Vaughn Shimko and Lauren Filipczak both broke the 21-minute barrier on the way to earning First Team All-Region and played a big role in the Penguin victory. The performance of the day, however, belonged to Emma Cortez. The Sophomore, who started the season as the Penguin number eight runner, finished fifth on the Penguins and tenth overall with a time of 21:06. The time, which was a one minute and twenty second improvement on her personal best, earned Cortez a spot on the Second Team All-Region where she was joined by Kennedy Taylor. Taylor was able to bounce back after missing a race due to some discomfort to still run a personal best time of her own. The season bests were rounded out by Taylor Souders, Mollie Miller, and Haylee Kelley, all of whom finished in the top 30 overall.

"It's hard to envision a race going much better than that," Frasier exclaimed! Nine athletes, nine personal bests, the individual champion, six All-Region, and the team championship. We are so proud of them. They deserved it."

Having just watched the women perform so well, it was hard for the men to not feel confident heading into their race just 30 minutes later. The men used the momentum to their advantage as Branden Chou, Tim Bradshaw, and Cain Duncan went out with the lead pack. Staying safely behind and waiting for their opportunity, each slowly moved up and ran mostly together for the first half of the race.

"Seeing Cain running so well as our number three really motivated me," explained Bradshaw. "He was right on our heels and he clearly came out to compete. That was huge for us."

Chou eventually pounced on an opportunity and took a lead that he wouldn't relinquish. He held on to claim the individual title. "Branden was here to win. Plain and simple," said Frasier.

The athletes created A, B, and C goals for this race with different places on them and Branden's A, B, and C goals all said 'win' next to them. He has run a ton of big races at Clark, he has been in the big moments, and he's a two-time 800m All-American for a reason. He earned that championship today." Bradshaw and Duncan came in fifth and seventh respectively to earn First Team All-Region recognition and gave the Penguins an excellent top three scores while also helping each to a new personal best time in the 8K.

Dylan Stevenson and Ryan Koenninger rounded out the Penguin top five and were named Second Team All-Region with times of just over 28 minutes.  Connor Olmstead had an amazing performance for only his second cross country 8K race by breaking 29 minutes for the first time. Elijah Cisneros, Hayden Davis, Ben Carter, and Kyle Williams all set new personal bests as well. Mason Ball, nursing achilles soreness, still gutted out a top thirty overall finish. 
   
Both teams will have the upcoming weekend off before returning to action Saturday, November 9th, at the NWAC Championships. After their performances yesterday, both teams looked poised to compete for an NWAC trophy.

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