iVANCOUVER, Wash - The Penguins took on the challenge of a major step up in competition as well as longer race distances at the Bill Roe Classic on Saturday in Ferndale, WA. The race, hosted by Western Washington University, featured nine four-year universities, including some of the top ranked Division II programs in the nation. Once again, the Penguins were the top two-year program at the event and had several great individual performances.

For the third meet in a row, the Men raced first and were led by Branden Chou, Who finished 94th overall out of the 175 runners in a time of 36:48. Not bad for his first ever 8k race and just outside of the Clark All-Time Top 20. Sophomore, Timothy Bradshaw, was the Penguin's number two for the third consecutive meet and improved his personal best time in the 8k by almost 40 seconds from last season. Cain Duncan, who was running his first ever 8k, came in next for Clark with a time of 27:46. The Sophomore duo of Ryan Koenninger and Dylan Stevenson rounded out the top five while safely running under the 29 minute mark.

Coach Owen Frasier was excited about the performance by the Penguin men, stating "What a great first 8k!. Really excited about the personal best from Timothy Bradshaw. He's worked hard and he's healthy and it's great for him to see that progress from last year. Also, really pumped for Branden and Cain. Both of them were competing in their first 8k and ran extremely confident races. I know Ryan and Dylan were hoping for faster times, but both of them definitely competed hard and did everything they could."

The Women were up next and Mia Beightol did Mia Beightol things to lead the Penguins. The freshman entered the Clark record books for the second time, this occasion being for the 6k distance. Her 23:16 was the 5th fastest ever for Clark and good enough for 61st place overall. Dani Buttrell joined Beightol on the Top 10 list in 9th overall with a 23:40 6k time and actually led Beightol for part of the race. Buttrell was not intimidated and had one of her best races as a Penguin. The steady Penguin pack of four stayed together for the entire race and pushed each other to top 100 finishes overall. Kennedy Taylor edged Sadie Schierscher and Vaughn Shomko right at the finish and Lauren Filipczak was right behind them. Emma Cortez was seventh with an improvement of almost a minute and a half from her 6k last season. Brandi Damos rounded out the top eight and managed to set a 5k personal best during the 6k race, a feat that a few of the other Penguins also accomplished.

Coach Frasier saw the meet as a great learning experience for the Women, stating "The first 6k is always going to be a little intimidating. Couple that with the incredible competition and our women are facing a lot today. Our coaching staff was proud of the way they were willing to learn from the experience and see it as an opportunity for growth."

Both teams will have the upcoming weekend off before returning to action Saturday, October 12th in Seattle, WA. 

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