Southwestern Oregon Wins First-Ever Women's Cross Country Championship

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - The Southwestern Oregon women's cross country team put together a historic performance for the program, winning its first-ever NWAC Women's Cross Country Championship on Monday at Spokane Valley's 'The Course'.

The Lakers were led by a pair of standout performances from freshmen Taylor Dickey and Lydia Montes De Oca, who finished first and second, respectively in the 6,000-meter race. Dickey took home medalist honors with a time of 22:47.6, winning the race by just over 15 seconds. Montes De Oca placed second in 23:03.5, almost 20 more seconds ahead of third place as the duo led the team to a tight eight point victory. The Lakers finished with 45 total team points, besting two-time defending champions Spokane who had 53.

Vianey Toledo took 11th for SWOCC, followed by Bella Fortino in 13th and Raena Crisp in 18th to close out the team's scoring. All five scoring runners for the Lakers are freshmen.

Spokane showed its overall team depth with six runners finishing between 8th to 15th place. However, with no All-Americans, the Sasquatch came up just short of their third-straight title.

Everett snagged third place as a team as Teagan Pentz led the way with a seventh place finish, while Lily Rock took 16th. Fourth place went to Lane as Violet Powell led the charge for the Titans with a strong fourth place run, finishing in 23:27.3.

Umpqua placed fifth overall as a team as sophomore Sanyana Felipe had one of the few personal bests of the day, finishing in 23:23.3 to take the bronze medal. Her teammate Analise Miller placed sixth in 23:47.9 as the Riverhawks had two All-Americans on the day.

Clackamas' Gabriella Salvione placed fifth in 23:38.3 to also earn All-American status.

The championship meet was the first held at The Course in Spokane Valley. The next two championships through 2027 will be held there.

Overall Team Scores
1. SW Oregon - 45
2. Spokane - 53
3. Everett - 104
4. Lane - 118
5. Umpqua - 121
6. Clackamas - 129
7. Treasure Valley - 137
8. Clark 236

The NWAC awards All-American status to the top-seven runners at the conference meet. Below are the list of All-American winners and their times.

All-Americans
1. Taylor Dickey, SW Oregon - 22:47.6
2. Lydia Montes De Oca, SW Oregon - 23:03.5
3. Sanyana Felipe, Umpqua - 23:23.3
4. Violet Powell, Lane - 23:27.3
5. Gabriella Salvione, Clackamas - 23:38.3
6. Analise Miller, Umpqua - 23:47.9
7. Teagan Pentz, Everett - 23:50.2

For full results, CLICK HERE.