St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s cross country teams will take the course for their fourth competition on Friday afternoon when they travel to Colfax, Wisconsin to compete in the Blugold Invitational held at the Whitetail Golf Course. Times have been bumped forward 15 minutes for both the men’s and women’s races. The women’s 6k race will now race at 4:15 p.m., while the men’s 8k will begin at 5:15 p.m.
Both the men’s and women’s races will feature a field made up of 26 different teams spanning NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, along with two club teams. Participating collegiate institutions include Bethel University, Carleton College, Central College, Gogebic Community College, Lakehead University, Luther College, Macalester College (men only), Michigan Technological University, North Central University, University of Northwestern, Saint Mary’s University, College of Saint Benedict, St. Olaf College, College of St. Scholastica, University of Minnesota (women only), UM-Duluth, UM-Morris, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville (men only), UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, UW-Superior, UW-Whitewater, Viterbo University and Winona State University.
On the men’s side, six of the top 15 nationally ranked teams will be participating on Friday. Those men’s teams include 1.) North Central, 2.) UW-Eau Claire, 3.) St. Olaf, 5.) Central, 7.) UW-Platteville and 15.) UW-La Crosse.
The women’s race will feature four of the top 25 squads in the nation including 14.) UW-La Crosse, 16.) Carleton, 20.) St. Olaf and 23.) North Central.
The Gusties were last on the course on September 20 when they competed in the St. Olaf Invitational held in Northfield. The women’s team finished sixth out of 16 teams, while the men’s team placed eighth out of 16 teams.
The Gustie men’s top performance of the St. Olaf Invite came courtesy of Thomas Knobbe (So., Decorah, Iowa) who recorded a time of 26:26.0 at the 8k race for a 20th place finish.Evan Jones (So., Pella, Iowa) was next in line in 30th with a time of 26:51.6 and Paul Nordquist (Jr., Edina, Minn.) rounded out the Gustie’s top runners in 36th with a time of 27:00.7.
On the women’s side, Marit Sonnesyn (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) and Caitlin Fermoyle (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) paced the Gusties by both finishing inside the top 25. Sonnesyn crossed the finish line in 23:42.6 for a 21st place finish, and Fermoyle crossed in 23:47.6 for a 25th place finish. Lauren Shurson (Jr., Chanhassen, Minn.) rounded out Gustavus’s top competitors in 33rd with a time of 24:12.2.
A link to more information on the Blugold Invite, including course information, course maps and parking information, can be found below.