Reed Paces Beavers at Pac-12 Championships

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Oregon State kicked off their postseason in friendly territory as the Beavers hosted the 2019 Pac-12 Cross Country Championships in Monmouth, Ore. on Friday morning.

The race was contested at Ash Creek Preserve, the first dedicated cross country course to host the Pac-12 Championship. Featuring a hotly contested women's field, the Beavers faced five Pac-12 opponents out of the national coaches' poll including three in the top-five.

After running to a program-best sixth place finish last year, the Beavers ultimately showed a strong outing against tough competition to finish in seventh place with multiple runners stepping up to the challenge. Oregon State was led by redshirt junior Lexi Reed who finished in 28th-place and moved up nine spots from last year's race. Reed has remained consistent all season and throughout her career as she's made significant improvements each year at the conference meet.

"We controlled the tempo of the race for us and I thought we ran awesome," head coach Louie Quintana said. "Lexi ran well and I thought the girls in the back really picked up the slack when some were struggling. It was really a team effort."

Behind Reed, the Beavers were led by Audrey Lookner in 41st, Meagen Lowe in 42nd, Mari Friedman in 44th and Greta Van Calcar in 50th for a total of five Beavers to finish within the top-50.

A contingent of runners in the middle of the pack stuck together and helped pace each other to solid finishes during the women's 6K. Lookner was the second Beaver to cross the finish line with a time of 20:53 while four Beavers would all finish close behind within 15 seconds.

"I think the fans were excited," Quintana said. "They were into it and people were coming up to me. We were right there in the race for a while and I think that's a pretty cool thing for our group."

Lowe had an impressive showing at her first collegiate postseason race as she clocked in at 20:55.4. Friedman improved from last year's finish as she clocked in at 44th and improved 39 seconds. Batya Beard clocked in at 21:08.4 with freshman Gabby Peterson running at 21:17.2.

Sophomore Haley Wolf ultimately finished in 74th (21:20.8) after running to a 33rd-place finish last season. Kate Intile finished in 82nd while the Beaver scoring was rounded out with freshman Libby Rinck at 98th.

Women's 6K Results
28. Lexi Reed - 20:32.6
41. Audrey Lookner - 20:53.0
42. Meagen Lowe - 20:55.4
44. Mari Friedman - 20:57.5
50. Greta Van Calcar - 21:01.5
57. Batya Beard - 21:08.4
66. Gabby Peterson - 21:17.2
74. Haley Wolf - 21:20.8
82. Kate Intile - 21:32.5
98. Libby Rinck - 22:17.6

Up Next
The postseason continues Nov. 15 at the NCAA West Regional Championships in Colfax, Wash. The top-two teams in each race will secure an automatic qualifier into the national meet with at-large selections to be announced later that weekend.

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For more information on the Oregon State women's cross country team, visit OSUBeavers.com or follow the team's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeaverTFXC, on Facebook at Facebook.com/BeaverTFXC, or on Instagram at Instagram.com/BeaverTFXC.

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Players Mentioned

Batya Beard

Mari Friedman

Kate Intile

Audrey Lookner

Meagen Lowe

Gabby Peterson

Lexi Reed

Libby Rinck

Greta Van Calcar

Haley Wolf

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