MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS

McKINLEYVILLE, Calif. — The 22nd-ranked Southern Oregon men's cross country team earned its second team win and Alyssa Johnson won the women's race Saturday morning at Cal Poly Humboldt's Jim Hunt Invitational.  
 
The Raider men put five runners in the top-12 and scored 26 points to beat out the host and Division II CCAA's fifth-ranked Cal Poly Humboldt's 31 points. 
 
Carter Stedman led the way, finishing the 8,000-meter course in 24 minutes 45.77 seconds — one second shy of his personal best. He placed second overall in the contest but was the first collegiate finisher. Unattached runner, Griffin Neal, finished first in 24:36. 
 
Josh Hepner ran a 75-second personal best and earned a fourth-place finish to conclude another impressive outing for the freshman from Portland. His time of 25:43 makes Hepner one of four Southern Oregon freshmen to run 8,000 meters faster than 25:45 in the past five years. 
 
Mason Weisgerber posted a season-best time of 25:51 to finish fifth overall. The duo of Hayden Roth (26:11) and Trenton Abraham (26:15) both ran personal bests to round out the scoring. They placed 10th and 12th overall, respectively. 
 
The No. 19-ranked Raider women earned first-, third-, and fifth-place finishes, but ultimately placed second in the team standings behind Humboldt's 32 points. 
 
Alyssa Johnson ran a season best and topped a 36-person field to win her second consecutive invitational. She cruised through the 6,000-meter course in 22 minutes, 33.03 seconds, and came in 30 seconds ahead of the runner-up finisher. Last season, Johnson completed the same 6k course in 22:46, and the year prior, in 23:44. 
 
Two freshmen, Alaina Casady and Emily Picard, both shaved about two and a half minutes off of their 6k personal bests to finish third and fifth overall. Casady's time of 23:17 makes her the eighth fastest frosh over 6,000 meters in program history, and Picard's time of 23:33 lands her 17th on that list. Casady is one of three freshmen to run under 23:20 in the past 10 years. 
 
Freshman Kayla Gorchels finished fourth for the Raiders to score her first points for the squad in her collegiate career. She finished 25th overall in a personal best time of 25:17. Ashley Jentzsch was SOU's fifth runner, placing 27th in 25:37. 
 
The Raider men posted a top-5 average time of 25:45 with an 89-second spread. They last walked away with the Jim Hunt Invitational title in 2021. 
 
Freshman Gus Blank made his collegiate debut, earning a 15th-place finish in 26:30. Logan Huffman ran a season best (27:14), and Dominic Vaughn-Luma earned a personal best (27:59). 
 
The Southern Oregon women posted a top-5 average time of 24:03 with a three-minute spread. 
 
Mercedes Harms attained a season best (25:45), and freshman Natalie Sandeen ran a personal best (26:18). 
 
The Raiders take the next two weekends off before heading to Salem on Oct. 4 for the Willamette Invitational at Bush's Pasture Park. SOU hasn't raced at Bush's Park since 2021, where the women's team won the Charles Bowles Invitational and the men earned a third-place finish.
 
MEN'S TEAM SCORES — 1. Southern Oregon 26, 2. Cal Poly Humboldt 31, 3. Oregon Tech 83, 4. SF State 99

SOU MEN'S 8K RESULTS (of 66 total entries)
2. Carter Stedman, 24:45.77
4. Josh Hepner, 25:43.23
5. Mason Weisgerber, 25:51.30
10. Hayden Roth, 26:11.45
12. Trenton Abraham, 26:15.21
15. Gus Blank, 26:30.23
28. Logan Huffman, 27:14.15
43. Dominic Vaughn-Luma, 27:59.70
 
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES — 1. Cal Poly Humboldt 32, 2. Southern Oregon 58, 3. SF State 62, 4. Oregon Tech 73

SOU WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS (of 36 total entries)
1. Alyssa Johnson, 22:33.03
3. Alaina Casady, 23:17.00
5. Emily Picard, 23:33.02
25. Kayla Gorchels, 25:17.03
27. Ashley Jentzsch, 25:37.56
28. Mercedes Harms, 25:45.67
32. Natalie Sandeen, 26:18.76