Eric Burck (6) took runner-up honors at the Charles Bowles Invitational on Saturday.
Concordia's Burck Cruises to Second Place in Loaded Charles Bowles Invitational
SALEM, Ore.- With just over 300 competitors in the field at the 34th Annual Charles Bowles Invitational, Concordia senior Eric Burck crossed the line before all but one to lead the Cavaliers at Bush's Pasture Park on Saturday.
With a time of 24 minutes, 46.33 seconds, Burkc finished second overall to Chico State’s Scott Bauhs who covered the 8,000-meter course in 24:06.32. Bauhs was the third-place finisher for the Wildcats at the NCAA Division II championships in 2006.
The Cavalier men nearly placed three runners inside the top10 as Martin Romero-Clark finished in sixth place with a 25:08.69 and Charles Cummings completing the race in 11th with a 25:17.86 to help Concordia to a fifth-place result in the team standings.
Chico State toppled the 30-team field with an event-low 33 points. Southern Oregon placed second with 127 and Lewis-Clark State ran for third with 147. The College of Idaho edged Concordia by four points, 167-to-171.
“Our top three guys had an unbelievable race through a really soggy and slow course,” Concordia head coach Randy Dalzell said.
On the women’s side, Linsie Michels placed 27th overall with a time of 18:48.32 among 288 racers to lead the Cavaliers. Andria Scheese followed in 38th place with an 18:54.57 and Lauren Moran palced 60th with a 19:27.02.
Maddie Coffman of Willamette University won the women's 5,000-meter race in 17:37.53.
With a 50-point sum, Chico State also won the women’s team crown, easily outpacing the runner-up squad from Lewis-Clark State. The Warriors finished with a 190-point total for second while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Whitman College tied for third with 215 points. Concordia placed 15th out of 28 teams with 386 points.
“We sat out one of our top runners in Alice Taylor, and that really hurt us in the team standings,” Dalzell said. “She’s a little banged up right now and we didn’t want to risk it at this point in the season.”
The Cavaliers will take the week off to host the adidas XC High School Classic on Oct. 11 at Fernhill Park before competing again at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Preview held AT Lincoln Park in Seattle on Oct. 18.