COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the SJU Invite Friday afternoon and the men took first while the women took second.
“Fall Finale is always a fun meet for us,” said Head Coach Brenden Huber. “It’s a chance to get another race in and the setting was perfect for racing fast and I’m happy with how many athletes took advantage of the opportunity. We had a lot of runners finish in the top-20 on both sides which hasn’t been the case historically. To have the men win and women come in second behind a solid Bethel squad was really cool to see.”
Although three unattached runners took the top three spots in the men’s race, Henry Hinchcliffe (Fy., Austin) finished in fourth place overall and the first of any collegiate racer for the Gusties with a time of 26:41, while Tucker Wallin (Fy., Red Wing) was right behind him in fifth finishing in 26:48. Nick Olfert (So., Shakopee), Lucas Schnirring (So., Eden Prairie), and Bryce Knutson (So., Owatonna) rounded out the top five for the Gusties, finishing sixth, seventh, and ninth of collegiate runners with times of 27:14, 27:24, and 27:32, respectively.
On the women’s side, Carissa Vanderwal (Fy., Ortonville) finished fourth overall for the Gusties with a time of 20:33, while Molly Weberg (Fy., Duluth) was shortly behind her in seventh. Rouding out the top four for Gustavus was Taina Koivisto (Fy., Babbitt), Sara Moen (Jr., Blaine), and Nadia English (Fy., Eden Prairie) who finished in 12th, 14th, and 16th respectively with times of 21:22, 21:27, and 21:36.