Barak Watson of Northwest Nazarene won the men's 8,000 meter race in the 37th annual Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational at Bush Park in Salem Saturday in a time of 24:03.64.

Watson finished 15 seconds ahead of Matt Freker of Portland and Isaac Chavez of Chico State who ended in a virtual tie for second place. Freker edged Chavez by .02 seconds.

Watson led the Crusaders to a fourth place finish in the meet with a team score of 129. Joining Watson in the Top 25 were teammates Matt Stark and Jesse Baggenstos.

Stark placed 15th in a time of 24:53.78, while Baggenstos placed 23rd in a time of 25:14.21.

In the women's race, Seattle Pacific's Heidi Laabs-Johnson finished 10th in a 5,000-meter time of 18:20.19 as the Falcons finished sixth.

SPU's Natty Plunkett was the only other GNAC athlete in the Top 25 placing 23rd in a time of 18:28.11.

Seattle Pacific was also represented Saturday at the Emerald City Open. Alexis Fynboe had their top finish placing 16th in the women's 6,000,

Willamette Charles Bowles Invitational(Oct. 1 at Salem, OR: Men – Chico State 37, Portland 37, Cal Baptist 117, Northwest Nazarene 129, Willamette 141, Seattle Pacific 160, Whitworth 198, Linfield 238, San Jose State 256, Central Washington 318. Individuals (8,000 Meters) – 1. Barak Watson, NNU, 24:03.64; 15. Matt Stark, NNU, 24:53.78; 23. Jesse Baggenstos, NNU, 25:14.21; 26. Jordan Wolfe, SPU, 25:24.30. Women – Chico State 43, Santa Clara 72, Portland 85, Lewis & Clark 125, Cal Baptist 174, Seattle Pacific 175, Whitman 193, San Jose State 199, Willamette 202, Linfield 267 (11. Northwest Nazarene 323, 16. Central Washington 456). Individuals (5,000 Meters) – 1. Alia Gray, CSUC, 17:50.55;10. Heidi Laabs-Johnson, SPU, 18:20.19; 23. Natty Plunkett, SPU, 18:28.11; 28. Natalie Evans, NNU, 18:34.79.

Emerald City Open (Oct. 1 at Seattle, WA): Men - Seattle 38, Seattle Running Club 44, Lane CC 72, Club Northwest 80, Seattle Pacific inc. Individuals (8,000 Meters) - 1. Nick Schippers, unat., 26:35; 31. Trevor Taylor, SPU, 28:52. Women - Seattle 20, Seattle Running Club 41, Seattle Pacific inc. Individuals (6,000 Meters) - 1. Elise Egseth, unat., 22:35; 16. Alexis Fynboe, SPU, 25:44; 17. Elizabeth Doe, SPU, 25:47; 19. Josephine Becker, SPU, 26:41.