MONMOUTH, Ore.—Junior Evan Markelz won the 5,000M Invite, to lead Lewis & Clark College men's track & field on Day Two of the John Knight Twilight Meet. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
 
The River Otters posted four top-10 finishes on Saturday to wrap up the two-day meet. 
 
Markelz led three Lewis & Clark runners who all finished in the top-four of the faster 5K competition. Markelz placed first out of 18 runners in the 5,000M Invite with a season-best time of 14:51.15. He sat in seventh place through the opening five laps (1,800M) but moved up to first over the next 400M and would bounce between first and second the rest of the way. He passed teammate Quinn Higgins with three laps to go and would cruise to a first-place finish by 6.81 seconds. Junior Emil Miller came across in third with a PR time of 14:58.65. His time moved him up to 16^th in program history. Higgins finished just behind Miller in fourth place, when he crossed the line 15:00.80. 
 
First year Knox Orchard and senior Joseph Naylor competed in the 5,000M Collegiate section. Orchard placed 15^th overall with a time of 16:41.78. Naylor came across in 16:50.97 to finish 16^th. 
 
Junior Gavin Sellers notched a sixth-place finish in the 3K Steeplechase. Sellers crossed the line in 10:38.42 to finish sixth out of 11 competitors.
 
Junior Harrison Fung added a top-10 finish in the 400M. He placed seventh out of 54 sprinters with a time of 50.45. First year Forrest Holt recorded a time of 52.48 to finish 36^th overall. 
 
Senior Andrew Baum led the team's field athletes on Saturday. He finished 13^th overall in the discus. Baum registered a toss of 41.13M (134-11.00 Feet) to finish 13^th out of 57 throwers. Junior Liam Stanley came in 42^nd with a mark of 31.17M (102-03.00 Feet). Baum also competed in the shot put. He launched the implement 12.64M (41-05.75 Feet) to place 15^th out of 46. 
 
First year Zane Bryant and sophomore Kristopher Adams represented Lewis & Clark in the long jump. Bryant launched himself 6.27M (20-07.00 Feet) to place 20^th out of 45 jumpers. Adams recorded a leap of 5.86M (19-02.75 Feet) to finish in 27^th. 
 
Senior Jon Fritz finished in 17^th place in the 110M Hurdles. The senior crossed the line in 16.14. 
 
Sophomore Jaden Mwendapole paced a trio of River Otters in the 100M. Mwendapole came across in 11.49 to finish 25^th out of 97. First year Enzo Murray posted a time of 12.00 to place 68^th. Senior Zaren Crockett clocked in at 12.30 to finish 85^th. 
 
Junior Colin Shimabukuro led five Lewis & Clark runners in the 800M. He notched a time of 2:00.33 to finish 34^th out of 100. First year Dustin Widrig placed 49^th overall with a time of 2:03.39. Orchard crossed the line in 2:06.67 to finish 71^st. Juniors Jordan Wu (2:08.86) and Teagon Aasen (2:13.11) finished in 81^st and 91^stoverall. 
 
Wu also competed in the 1,500M – after his race was postponed on Friday night due to lightning. He finished in a season-best time of 4:19.87 to place 48^th out of 77 competitors. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Markelz (41^st) and Miller (79^th) both rank in the top-100 in NCAA DIII in the 5,000M after Saturday. 
• Markelz moved into second-place in the conference in the 5K with his season-best mark. Higgins (third) and Miller (eighth) also rank in the top-10 in the conference in the event. 
• Bryant made his collegiate field debut on Saturday, when he competed in the long jump for the first time. 
• Sellers raced the 3K Steeplechase for the first time in nearly two years. His time of 10:38.42 was 0.99 seconds off his time at the NWC Championship Meet on April 16, 2024. 

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will host the L&C Larry Byerly Invite on Friday and Saturday in their final tune-up before the 2026 Northwest Conference Championship Meet. Friday's portion of the meet will be hosted at Linfield University and be comprised solely of field events. Saturday's meet will be hosted at the Eldon and David Fix Track on campus and also serve as Lewis & Clark's Senior Day.