Vanessa Jones nears the finish line where she placed 41st. (Photo by Caleb Williams, D3sports.com)
Running without three of its top seven runners due to injuries and the flu, the Gustavus women’s cross country team showed excellent depth and registered a ninth place finish out of 16 teams at the St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday. Elizabeth Hauer was the top Gustie finisher as she placed 36th in a time of 24:28. University of Minnesota-Duluth claimed the team title with a total of 45 points.
The top six Gustavus runners all finished within one minute of each other and all placed in the top 68 out of 276 runners. Following Hauer across the finish line were Vanessa Jones (41st – 24:38), Megan Lundgren (46th – 24:44), Emma Wilson (54th – 24:58), Natalie Ristau (56th – 25:00), and Erica Hett (68th – 25:28).
The Gusties will run in the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis next Saturday.