SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Gonzaga men's cross country earned a third-place finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational on the Pine Ridge Golf Course Friday morning, defeating fellow West Coast Conference foe No. 25 Portland in the process. Wil Smith paved the way for the Zags' podium finish, placing ninth in his second-ever appearance at this meet.
 
Smith finished in 23:15.2 as the leader for the Bulldogs, followed by Logan Law (19th, 23:36.9), Bryce Cerkowniak (20th, 23:37.2), Cooper Laird (28th, 23:45.7), and Paul Talens (38th, 23:56.2). Despite a late scratch from Drew Kolodge, the Zags collected 101 team points to knock off Montana State (102 points), who is receiving votes in the latest national poll, and No. 25 Portland (159 points). GU finished just four points shy of No. 22 Oregon, who placed second with 97.
 
No. 2 BYU was the dominant winner on Friday, completing a perfect team sweep while placing seven runners in the top ten. Casey Clinger was the individual champion with a time of 22:54.8.
 
UP NEXT
The 18th-ranked Gonzaga women will be in action next on Oct. 18 at the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station, Texas. The next day, the squads will reunite at the Inland Empire Classic in Lewiston, Idaho in their second-to-last meet of the regular season.
 
Full results of the Bill Dellinger Invitational can be found HERE.