SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College men's cross country finished second among 10 NCAA DIII programs and first out of eight Northwest Conference squads on Saturday morning at the Frank Knott Classic. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
Men's Cross Country – 8^th out of 18 Teams – 238 Points
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
The River Otters got their first taste of the NCAA DIII West Regional Championship course in Spokane. Lewis & Clark beat conference rival and host Whitworth to avenge a loss at the Pacific Lutheran Invitational and beat the "A" squad of six of the other seven NWC squads who raced on Saturday. Saturday's meet also featured five NCAA DI schools and several strong NAIA squads. 
 
Senior Emil Miller put together the best showing of his collegiate career in cross country. He not only led the squad but posted a top-10 time in program history. Miller finished 16^th overall and second among NCAA DIII runners. He posted a career PR 8K time of 24:36.7 to move into sixth place in program history. 
 
Fellow senior Quinn Higgins finished 39^th overall and fourth among DIII runners. He turned in a season-best time of 25:17.7. 
 
Senior Evan Markelz came in third on the team. The senior posted a season-best time of 25:21.6 to place seventh among DIII runners. 
 
Senior Sam Garcia was the fourth River Otter to cross the line. Garcia notched a season-best time of 26:17.7 to place 85^th overall. 
 
First year Dylan McGuirk carved out the fifth and final scoring spot in the Lewis & Clark lineup for a second-straight meet. McGuirk posted a career-best 8K time of 26:57.4 to place 116^th overall. 
 
Sophomore Knox Orchard came in just behind McGuirk. Orchard place 118^th overall and sixth on the team with a time of 27:00.4. 
 
First year Tait Ostrom came across in 135^th place with a time of 27:29.6 to finish seventh on the squad. 
 
Senior John Blockhus notched a time of 27:43.3. He placed 144^th overall and eighth on Lewis & Clark. 
 
Senior Jordan Wu was the ninth Lewis & Clark to come across. He posted a time of 27:54.1 to place 157^th. 
 
Junior AJ Gibbs placed 10^th on the team and 170^th overall. He registered a time of 28:07.2. 
 
First years Nico Rossini and Ukiah Moon Steury finished back-to-back. Rossini (28:22.2.) and Moon Steury (28:22.3) posted nearly identical times to finish 173^rd and 174^th. 
 
Senior Gavin Sellers made his season debut on Saturday. The senior registered a time of 29:49.8 to place 197^th. 
 
Senior Teagon Aasen closed in 31:58.0. Aasen finished the race in 204^th place. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Miller's time of 24:36.7 moved him from 26^th to 6^th overall in program history. He shaved off 42.6 seconds off his previous career-best time. 
• Lewis & Clark finished first among eight NWC squads with 238 points. Whitworth (259), University of Puget Sound (302), Whitman College (327), George Fox University "B Squad" (375), Pacific University (419), Linfield University (541) and Pacific Lutheran University (568) also competed on Saturday. Willamette University was the only NWC school who did not race at the meet. 
• Miller finished first on the team in a cross country race for the first time in his career.  
• Lewis & Clark will return to The Course on Saturday, November 14 for the NCAA DIII West Regional Championship Meet. 
• Men's cross country now has four runners (Markelz, Miller, Higgins, Garcia) who rank in the top-11 in program history for fastest career 8K times. 
• Sellers competed in his first cross country meet since the 2025 NWC Championship Meet last November. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will return to Oregon for the rest of the month. The River Otters will compete on Saturday, October 17 at the George Ojai Invitational in their regular-season finale.