In brief

Scampered through the course at the Charles Bowles Invitational were the men’s and women’s cross country teams on Oct. 11. The event, hosted by Willamette University, featured 16 women’s teams and 15 men’s teams.

Running in the 8k race, sophomore Nate Endicott finished 13th among those running for a university or college team, registering a time of 25:40.81, a new personal-best.

Fellow sophomores Jesse Cronin and Jesse Fassler also placed among the top 50 for Portland State. Overall, the men’s team finished seventh out of 15.

Sophomore Stephanie Deever also had a personal best for the Vikings as she ran 18:30.89 in the 5k race, finishing in 10th place among college athletes.

The Vikings have two more races to prepare for the Big Sky Championships on Nov. 1. Their next meet is in Oregon City this weekend.

Inspired by their new tennis coach, Brian Parrott, was the men’s tennis club, who competed in their first and only fall tournament in Cheney, Wash.

Parrott, who took over for Steven Ascher, coached the Vikings to victories in seven out of 14 of their singles matches against other schools, a far better winning percentage than the .295 the team posted during the spring season.

Seniors Alex Hart and Adam Blackner joined junior Kyle Erickson and sophomores Jeff Cero, Alex Vandershelden and Sean Eberle in the competition.

Urged on by Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan, the team will hold a final intra-squad scrimmage at Cleveland High School in Northeast Portland.

Last year, the Blazers provided 10 new courts at P.I.L. high schools as part of their Make it Better community service program. The scrimmage will follow a court unveiling at the fundraising event.

Tickets are only available to Cleveland High School students at $5 each.