Senior Marit Sonnesyn led Gustavus at the Gustie Alumni Meet on Saturday.
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s cross country team opened its 2015 season on a positive note on Saturday morning, coming in first of three teams at the Gustie Invite held in the Linnaeus Arboretum. Bethany Lutheran College and former members of the Gustavus cross country program were among the competition that the Gusties faced. Gustavus finished with a total of 30 points, followed by the Gustie Alumni in second with 42 points, while Bethany Lutheran rounded out the field with 62.
Marit Sonnesyn (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) was the Gusties’ leader by finishing the 5k with a time of 20:22.2, good for second place overall. Teammate Lauren Shurson (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn.) was not far behind, coming in exactly 10 seconds later with a time of 20:32.2. Lotus Schifsky (Fy., Prescott, Wis.) finished fifth in 21:33.3, Megan Weaver (Fy., Stillwater, Minn.) finished ninth in 22:10.4, and Lydia Hayes (So., Decorah, Iowa) finished 10th in 22:17.8 to round out the Gustie scoring.
Caitlin Fermoyle ’15 was the meet’s individual champion, finishing with a time of 19:48.6.
“I was pleased with the way our team raced today,” said Coach Dale Bahr. “When healthy, Marit is one of the top runners in the MIAC and she proved that today with a nice performance. Lauren also showed that she worked really hard this summer, which was great to see. I was also very impressed with our first-years, particularly Lotus and Megan who each finished within our top five. They’ve worked really hard during the preseason and I’m excited to see what they and the rest of our younger runners can do as the season continues.”
As it does annually, the Gustie Invitational signifies the end of training camp and Bahr is impressed with where his team is at going into the school year and with how the overall meet went on Saturday.
“The Alumni Meet is always a fun day,” said Bahr. “It’s great seeing our alum back and running and we appreciate the time they take out of their weekend to be here.”
The Gustavus cross country teams will be in action next Saturday when they travel to River Falls, Wis. to take part in the UW-River Falls Invitational.