PORTLAND PILOTS MEN'S AND WOMEN'S XC

LEWIS & CLARK CHASE RACE

Event: Lewis & Clark Chase Race
Host: Lewis & Clark
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021
Location: Lake Oswego Public Golf Course in Lake Oswego, Ore.
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Video: N/A

Schedule of Events
Men's 4M: 6:45 p.m.
Women's 3M: 6:45 p.m.

PSU RUST BUSTER

Event: PSU Rust Buster
Host: Portland State
Dates: Friday, Sept. 3, 2021
Location: Westmoreland Park in Portland, Ore.
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Video: N/A

Schedule of Events
Men's 6K: 2 p.m.
Women's 4K: 2:30 p.m.

THIS WEEK
• The Pilots No. 16 men's and (RV) women's cross country teams will send select runners to compete at two meets to open the 2021 season: the Lewis & Clark Chase Race on Wednesday, Sept. 1 and the PSU Rust Buster on Friday, Sept. 3.
• Live results will be available for both meets at PortlandPilots.com.

2021 LOOK AHEAD
• The Portland men return all seven runners who competed at last year's NCAA Cross County Championships: redshirt freshman Bradley Peloquin, redshirt juniors Zak Kirk, Cathal Doyle and Evert Silva, seniors Jacob Klemz and Stan Niesten and redshirt senior Riley Osen.
• Kirk was the top finisher for the Pilots in 60th place at OSU Cross Country Course, which was recognized as one of the hardest courses to ever host the national meet.
• The Pilots men's cross country team also welcomes 12 newcomers to the Bluff this fall.
• The Portland women return four of the seven who competed at last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships: freshman Samantha Prusse, junior Emma Jenkins, redshirt junior and All-American Anna Pataki and senior Veerle Bakker.
• Pataki made her second appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last year, and recorded the sixth-best finish in program history with her 31st-place individual performance.
• The Pilots women's cross country team has also added six freshmen to their roster for the upcoming 2021 season.

LAST SEASON
• The men's team finished 21st at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships, marking the program's 21st overall appearance at the NCAA Championships since 1993 under the guidance of head coach Rob Conner.
• The Pilot men remained in the top-25 of the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll throughout the entire 2020 season, reaching as high as the No. 7 program in the country back in Week 4.
• The Portland men collected third place at the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships this past year. Evert Silva earned All-WCC First Team honors with his sixth-place individual finish.
• Klemz, Kirk and Niesten each garnered All-WCC Second Team honors with their top-15 performances at the 2020 conference championship meet.
• The women's squad finished 22nd at the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, and made their first appearance as a team since the 2018.
• Pataki won the women's individual title at last year's West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships at Craig Ranch Regional Park, crossing the line more than eight seconds before the next runner.
• The Portland women nabbed third as a team at the 2020 conference championships and had three memebrs recognized on the All-WCC First Team: Pataki, Victoria Weir and Stella Gillman.
• The women's team will be without Weir and Gillman in 2021, in addition to last year's NCAA Elite 90 recipient Sofia Castiglioni.
• The Portland women's cross country program earned a 2020 NCAA Division I All-Academic Team Award after the completion of last season, as the Pilots posted a stunning 3.75 team cumulative grade-point average, highest among all teams that competed at this year's NCAA Cross Country Championships.
• Six women's runners also earned individual All-Academic awards, including Bakker, Jenkins and Pataki.
• The Portland men were also honored as a 2020 All-Academic Team with their 3.19 cumulative GPA from the fall semester of last year.
• Five members of the men's program also notched individual All-Academic accolades in Doyle, Kirk, Niesten, Osen and Peloquin.

PILOTS IN THE POLLS
• In the USTFCCCA National Preseason Polls, the Portland men rank No. 16 overall and the Portland women are currently receiving votes.
• In the USTFCCCA West Region Preseason Polls, the men rank No. 4, and the women rank No. 6.