SALEM, Ore.—Senior Emil Miller ran the second-fastest time in program history, to help lead Lewis & Clark College men's cross country to an eighth-place finish at the George Oja Invitational. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
Men's Cross Country – 8^th out of 33 Teams – 300 Points
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
Miller finished as one of five River Otters to post career-best 8K times and six others notched season-best times on Saturday. The race served as a preview of the Northwest Conference Championship course and as the team's final tune-up before NWCs. 
 
As a team, Lewis & Clark finished third out eight conference teams and defeated nationally-ranked NAIA side Corban University and NCAA DI Portland State University. 
 
Miller finished second among DIII runners and 18^th overall. The senior, who had posted the sixth-best time in program history in his last race, shaved off 21.2 seconds off his career-best time. He crossed the line in 24:15.5 to move up to second all-time. 
 
Senior Quinn Higgins placed second on the team and turned in a top-10 performance in program history of his own. The senior shaved off 4.8 seconds off his career-best 8K time to move from ninth to sixth all-time. He placed 36^th in the race with a final time of 24:34.9. 
 
Senior Evan Markelz was just behind Higgins. The program's record holder for the fastest time turned in his fastest mark in nearly two years. Markelz posted a season-best time of 24:42.4 to place 42^nd overall. 
 
Senior Sam Garcia was the fourth River Otter to cross the line. He turned in a season-best time of 25:42.5 to finish 97^th. 
 
Sophomore Knox Orchard finished as the team's fifth and final scorer. Orchard turned in a season-best time of 26:38.7 to finish in 199^th place. 
 
First years Tait Ostrom, Dylan McGuirk and Nico Rossini all notched career-best time. Ostrom just missed out on a top-50 all-time mark in program history by a first year. He crossed the line in 26:44.4 to finish in 208^th. McGuirk (26:52.5) and Rossini (27:18.6) placed 220^th and 262^nd. 
 
Seniors John Blockhus and Jordan Wu finished back-to-back. Blockhus registered a time of 27:25.7 to place 274^th. Wu came in just behind him with a season-best time of 27:29.9 to come in 280^th.
 
Senior Gavin Sellers recorded a season-best time of 28:59.4 to place 341^st. Senior Teagon Aasen came in 385^th place with a season-best time of 31:08.5 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Miller has improved his 8K PR time by 63.8 seconds over his past two races. He now sits 7.1 seconds off Markelz's record time that Markelz set in 2023. 
• This year's team now has the top-two fastest times in program history, along with the sixth-fastest (Higgins) and 11^th-fastest (Garcia). 
• Markelz broke 25-minute for the first time since the 2024 NCAA DIII West Regional Championship Meet. The senior, who dealt with injuries all of last season, has now broken 25-minutes 10 times in his career. 
• Lewis & Clark finished behind NWC schools George Fox (156) and Whitworth (246). They beat Willamette (322), Puget Sound (400), Whitman (470), host Linfield (714), and Pacific (854). 
• Rossini (26:44.4) sits just 0.7 seconds behind the 50^th-fastest time all-time by a Lewis & Clark first year.  

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will return to Salem for the NWC Championship Meet on Saturday, October 31. The men's race will begin at 11 a.m.