Just like that, it's all over. After six months of preparation, the Penguins took to the course at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Washington for the last time on Saturday. The weather was much improved from 2023, which allowed for mostly faster times across the board. Both the men's and women's teams performed really well and had great individual and team performances. In the end, the women finished second overall and the men fourth. It was the 27th top five finish for the women and 26th for the men in Clark College history.
The women's gun went off at 11am and the race went as expected at the front. Penguin freshman Mia Beightol was running toe to toe with a couple of sophomores from Spokane for most of the race as the two experienced athletes attempted to push the newcomer. Beightol was unfazed, following the race plan perfectly, and pulled away with about 800 meters to go before winning the race with a time of 18:18.
"Throughout the race I just kept reminding Mia that this was exactly what we expected and that she was right where we planned for her to be," explained Penguin coach Owen Frasier. "Every time she just gave me a quick nod to respond and locked right back into racing. She ran a great race and she deserved to win. We are so proud of her."
By winning, Beightol became only the second Clark College Penguin woman in school history to win the NWAC Individual cross country championship- alongside last year's champ Sydnee Boothby- who is now competing for Washington State University. With her time, Mia also moved up the all-time Clark College rankings with the third fastest 5K time in school history. When asked post-race if she expected to win, Beightol responded with a giggle and smile. "I was hoping it would happen. Mary and Kaley (from Spokane) did a really good job. It was great to push each other. I am proud of myself and my team. I am just really excited."
For the first time all season it wasn't Dani Buttrell coming in behind Beightol. Instead, it was freshman Vaughn Shimko who continued the strong end to her season with her third consecutive great race for the Penguins. Her time of 20:23 was good enough for 11th place overall. Buttrell was right behind her in 12th and both athletes earned a spot on the NWAC All Conference Second Team. Sophomore Lauren Filipczak ran 20:59 to finish fourth for the Penguins and 19th overall, just seconds ahead of freshman Kennedy Taylor who also finished inside the NWAC top twenty. Rounding out the Penguin top seven were sophomore Emma Cortez and freshman Taylor Souders. Cortez backed up a great regional race with another tough performance, and Souders ran her season's best race at the best time of year.
When it was all over the women finished 2nd as a team for the third consecutive season. Though an NWAC team championship was the goal, the Penguins had a lot to be proud of. It was their fourth year in a row earning a team trophy, a feat that has only been accomplished one other time in school history. With six of their top 10 runners returning next season, hopefully in 2025 the Penguins can finally break through and complete a championship season.
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The men followed at 12pm and mostly ran conservatively to start the race. The strategy paid off as the Penguins came storming back in the second half of the race to cut down the deficit and eventually finished safely in fourth place overall. Like the women with Beightol, the men got another great performance from their low stick Branden Chou. The third year Penguin used his experience to climb up over 10 places before settling into fourth place overall and earning an All-American spot. "We were very confident that Chou was going to run well again today," said Penguin coach Owen Frasier. "In fact, I told the men in our team meeting that if Branden didn't finish as an All-American, I'd jump into Chambers Bay. In his three years at Clark between track and cross country, Chou has earned All American in every one of them. It's just who he is. He's that special." Coming in next for Clark was freshman Cain Duncan. Duncan really stepped-up during Championship Season and had his best races during the two championship competitions. His 10th place finish earned him a medal and a spot on the NWAC All Conference Second Team. By having two men's athletes in the top 10, Clark accomplished something that has only happened five times in the program's over 50-year history in cross country.
The breakout performer for the men was sophomore Dylan Stevenson. Stevenson picked a great time to break the 28-minute mark for the first time, running 27:36 for an almost 30 second personal best to finish 28th overall. Right behind him in 29th was Tim Bradshaw. Though it wasn't his best race, it was another sub 28 for the sophomore leader. Rounding out the top five was another sophomore in Ryan Koenninger. The 34th place finish was another in a long list of solid performances in his career. The final pair in the top seven were a couple of first year Penguins, Elijah Cisneros and Conner Olmstead. Both newcomers saw personal best times in their last races of the season and built some nice momentum heading into track season.
The Penguins roll into next season with Duncan and Cisneros as two solid pieces to the team and will hope to add some impact freshman to fill in the big gaps left by the great class of outgoing sophomores.
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