Pier Park Invitational Information (.pdf)
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland cross country teams will host the Pier Park Invitational on Sept. 10. The course will open at 8:30 a.m. with races beginning at 10 a.m. Starting off the event will be the men’s 8K race followed by the women’s 5K race, which will start at 10:45 a.m. Post-race results will be available at portlandpilots.com. Registration for the event is still open.
Teams and/or athletes interested in participating in the race can contact assistant coach Jonathan Marcus at
marcus@up.edu for more information.
Awards will be given to the top seven overall finishers in both the men’s and women’s loop. The course is a dirt trail loop running 2,000-meters long with some grassy areas and some paved trail with plenty of spots for cross country enthusiasts to watch the races unfold.
Last year, participants in the Pier Park Invitational included Portland, Willamette, Seattle, Oregon State, Warner Pacific, Portland State, Clackamas CC, Clark College, Mt. Hood CC, and Highline CC.
UP Men’s Cross Country
Led by then-sophomore Joash Osaro, UP’s men’s team led the team standings with a score of 26. Osoro’s posted a time of 24:42 to capture the best individual time in the race. Of the seven Pilots running, five finished in the top 10. 93 participants ran in all.
The Pilots climbed as high as the eighth-best ranked team in the nation last season, finishing the NCAA Championship in 13th place. Trevor Dunbar garnered All-American Honors along with regional honors while Lars Erik Malde also earned All-Region honors.
In the spring, David Perry finished eighth overall in the USA Junior National Cross Country Championships and followed it up with a tenth place finish at the 2011 NACAC Cross Country Championship in Trinidad.
UP Women’s Cross Country
The women’s team faired even better at last year’s event, coasting to a first place finish with a score of 20, 44 points better than second-place Willamette. Portland had the top two runners in Kellie Houser (17:51) and Melissa Hastings (18:04) with four more in the top 10. The Pilots finished with 10 of the top 15 individual times.
UP finished last season ninth at the NCAA West Regionals after finishing as the runner-up at the WCC Championships. Portland’s women have won 19 of the 26 championships the WCC has sponsored, including 12 of the last 15.