INDEPENDENCE, Ore. — The Saint Martin's Men's and Women's Cross Country teams wrapped up the 2025 regular season with a strong performance at the 2025 George Oja Invitational in Independence, Oregon on Saturday, October 18.

On the men's side, the Saints finished 17th out of 32 teams with a combined score of 473. The women's team placed 18th out of 31 teams with a team score of 514.

"We had a lot of strong performances at George Oja," Head Cross Country Coach Gabriel Trimbur said. "They showed up to the start line with confidence in their training and each looking to take this opportunity to put the puzzle pieces together."

Senior Elijah Dale led the Saints in the men's 8k, finishing with a career-best time of 25:21.1. He placed 82nd out of 402 runners in the 8k.

Kekaihulali Halpern was SMU's top finisher in the women's 6k, placing 27th out of 352 runners with a time of 21:44.1.

Freshman Jake Beck was SMU's next finisher in the men's 8k, placing 103rd with a time of 25:41.6. Freshman Tyler Scott was next for the Saints, placing 123rd with a time of 25:57.1. Junior Noe Ortega finished one spot behind in 124th, clocking in at 25:57.4. Kainalu Pagente rounded out the top five for the Saint Martin's men's team with a time of 26:17.2 to place 158th.

In the women's 6k, freshman Camila Romo was SMU's next finisher, clocking in at 23:57.0 to place 150th. Kekaimalino Halpern placed 154th with a time of 23:59.1. Mira Jayarama placed 189th with a time of 24:24.7. Olivia Mitchell rounded out the SMU top five with a time of 25:35.3 to place 200th.

Next up, the Saints will travel to Billings, Montana for the GNAC Championships on Oct. 25.

"Overall, both groups are beginning to race as a team and there's no better time to do so than  championship season," Trimbur said.