MONMOUTH, Ore. – The defending GNAC men's and women's cross country champions, Simon Fraser, opened their season in fine form, with the men winning the Ash Creek Collegiate and the women's finishing second Friday evening.
 
The SFU men ran a strong team race with lead runner Sebastian Brinkman finishing third. SFU placed five runners inside the top 11 to claim first place with a team score of 37, one point in front of University of Portland with 38. SFU runners finished 3-6-7-10-11. Portland runners placed 2-4-8-9-15.

Brinkman ran the Ash Creek Preserve 6-kilometre course in 18:00.50 just short of the winning pace set by Western Oregon's Hunter Hutton who clocked 17:51.20. Behind Brinkman were scoring runners 6. Scott Arndt (18:06.40), 7. Henry Ruckman-Utting (18:10.90), 10. Aiden Good (18:16.60), and 11. Ephrem Mekonnen ( 18:20.10), separated by 20 seconds.

Men's Team 6K Results
1. Simon Fraser 37
2. Portland 38
3. Western Oregon 63
4. Saint Martin's 115
5. Lane CC 124
6. Lewis & Clark 172
7. Linfield 198
8. Corban 245

The women's team, ranked No. 9 in the latest USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Poll, finished second behind NCAA D1 Oregon State, 28 points to 61. SFU runners placed 6-7-14-15-19 while Oregon State runners took the top three spots and placed ninth and 13^th. Teaghan Knox claimed first place by completing the 5-km course in 17:49.40, less than a second in front of her teammate.
 
The Red Leafs were led by Megan Roxby. She finished seventh in 18:14.50. Grace Chalk was eighth in 18:18.60 with Emily Chilton 15^th (18:51.70), Charlotte Prangley 16^th (18:54.10) and Ella Marion 20^th (19:12.70).
 
The SFU women won the 2021 NCAA Division II West Regional on the same course before placing 16th at the Division II National Championships.
 
Women's Team 5K Results
1 Oregon State 28
2 Simon Fraser 61
3 Saint Martin's 70
4 Western Oregon 92
5 Lewis & Clark 132
6 Lane CC 147
7 Linfield 167
8 Corban 255