PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland senior Michael Somers and junior Aoibhe Richardson have been selected to compete for their respective countries at the 2018 SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Tilburg, The Netherlands on December 9. Richardson will run in the women's U23 race, while Somers will compete in the senior men's race.
 
This will be the second time that Richardson will represent Ireland at the championships, her first being in 2015 where she placed 61^st overall in the U20 4.157 km. At Portland, Richardson most recently helped the Pilot women post a 12^th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, a program-best.  The junior was the third Pilot to cross the finish line in 57^th place (20:45.0).
 
"Aoibhe had a great cross country season and has developed into such a strong runner," said women's head coach Ian Solof. "She has worked hard to earn this opportunity and is really deserving of it. I can't wait to see how she does against other top Europeans."
 
2018 will mark the third time that Somers will wear the Belgium jersey at the European XC Championships. Somers placed 35^th in the U23 7.97 race in 2016 when the team finished second overall to Italy. He then went on to finish 11^th in 2017 in the U23 8.23km race, with Belgium finishing second to France.
 
This year at Portland, Somers was the fifth runner to cross the line for Portland at the NCAA XC Championships, placing 57^th overall (30:12.8). Somers played an important part in the men's cross country teams' second consecutive podium finish, to mark the Pilots' third top-three finish in five years.
 
Richardson and Somers continue a recent stretch of Portland harriers competing at the European Championships. Then-sophomore Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse has also competed for his home country France at the championships, most recently finishing fourth in the 2017 U23 race, helping lead France to the team title. Then junior-Noah Schutte competed in 2017 championships as well, placing 43^rd overall.
 
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Portland's European Championship History
 
Bold = Was a Portland Athlete at the time
Italic = Before committing to Portland
 
Aoibhe Richardson – Ireland (2018)
Michael Somers – Belgium (2018)
 
Previous Results:
Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse – France (U23) (2017), 4^th place
Michael Somers – Belgium (U23) (2017), 11^th place
Noah Schutte – The Netherlands (U23) (2017), 43^rd place
 
Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse – France (U23) (2016), 14^th place
Michael Somers – Belgium (U23) (2016) 35^th place