Colfax, Wis. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s cross country team finished 12th with a score of 376 at the Blugold Invitational held on Friday at the Whitetail Golf Course. Winning the meet was UW-La Crosse with score of 54, placing second was St. Olaf College with an 80, and rounding out the podium in third was Central College with a 98.
The 2013 Blugold Invitational was comprised of 26 teams spanning Divisions I, II, and III. Amongst Division III teams in the meet, six were ranked inside the top 10 in the central region according to the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional rankings released on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Of collegiate entrants in the race, Joe Renier (Sr., Cambride, Minn.) was Gustavus’s only runner to crack the top 50. Renier came across the finish line in 33rd with a time of 25:50.77, besting his season-best time of 25:57 set two weekends ago at the St. Olaf Invite.
Following Renier was Thomas Knobbe (Fr., West Des Moines, Iowa) and Evan Jones (Fr., Pella, Iowa) who both turned in their best times of the season as well. Kobbe placed 60th with a time of 26:30.08, and Jones came in 69th with a time of 26:41.75.
Rounding out Gustavus’s scoring five with their best performances of the year was Leighton Becher (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) in 106th (27:26.86) and Sam Fransen (Sr., Jackson, Minn.) in 108th (27:31.92).
Grant Wintheiser of St. Olaf was the top collegiate runner, taking gold with a time of 24:48.64. Jessop Keene of UW-Stout finished behind Wintheiser in second (24:49.61), and Austin O’Brien of Central College rounded out the top three in third (25:00.58).
The Gustavus cross country teams will be back on the course in two weeks when they travel to La Crosse, Wis. on Saturday, Oct. 19. The women will compete in the Tori Neubauer Invitational, while the men will compete in the Jim Drews Invitational.