Chris deLaubenfels ran his best time of the season for a 45th-place finish.
The Gustavus men’s cross country team turned in a 17th-place finish with 459 points at the 25-team Jim Drews Invitational Saturday morning in La Crosse, Wis. UW-La Crosse won the team competition with 75 points and all five runners finishing in the top 20. Senior Chris deLaubenfels (Mount Vernon, Iowa) beat his best time of the season by 30 seconds with a time of 26:38 and a 45th place-finish.
Junior John Leaf (Center City, Minn.) completed the race in 27:06, good enough for 68th-place. Senior Alex Horton (Northfield, Ill.) and first-year Jeremy Kuhn (St. Michael, Minn.) finished within ten seconds of each other to earn 106th-place in 27:57 and 114th-place in 28:08, respectively. Horton and Kuhn both ran their best times of the season as well. Sophomore Mark Hartmann (White Bear Lake, Minn.) crossed the finish line at 28:30 for 126th-place.
The Golden Gusties finished behind three other MIAC schools, including St. John’s, Hamline, and St. Olaf. Coach Friedrich’s squad will not compete next weekend as they prepare for the MIAC Cross Country Championships Saturday, October 27 at the Como Park Golf Course.