SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s cross country teams both took first place in the Hamline Invitational on Friday afternoon. The men finished with a team score of 25, while the women posted a score of 32.
Complete Results (Men’s followed by Women’s)
Andrew Stumbo (Sr., Boone, Iowa) continued his winning streak, taking first place with a time of 25:14.3. Garet Grant (Sr., Winona) and Bryce Knutson (Sr., Owatonna) came in third and fourth place, with times of 26:18.6 and 26:19.6, respectively. Casey Olson (Sr., Harmony) finished sixth overall with a time of 26:44.8 and Tucker Wallin (Jr., Red Wing) wrapped up the top five for the Gusties coming in at 11th place at 27:01.1.
“We’ve had a tough week of training,” said Head Coach Brenden Huber. “To see the guys really bring the effort today to get the win was a lot of fun to see. We had a lot of guys run some of their best times even on tired legs.”
Gustavus finished in front of St. Johns, Bethel, the University of Minnesota Running Club, Augsburg, and Hamline.
On the women’s side, Evelyn Villalobos (So., Crystal) crossed the finish line first for the Gusties and second overall at 23:03.7. Elizabeth Donnelly (Sr., Langley, Wash.) finished in fourth place with a time of 23:16.3. Mackenzee Miest (Sr., St. James) and Lily Engebretson (Sr., White Bear Lake) finished back to back at sixth and seventh place with times of 23:20.6 and 23:27.9, respectively. Julia Severson (Jr., St. Cloud) posted the fifth best time for the Gusties at 23:57.4.
“The ladies had a lot of personal records today,” said Huber of the women’s team. “Our top five really stepped up and made sure they got the job done against some really good teams.”
The Gusties’ 32 team points were well above the second place finisher, Bethel, at 65. St. Thomas came in third, followed by Minnesota, Hamline, and St. Kate’s.
“The conditions were not ideal for running with it being very humid, but we challenged a lot of them to run with a lot of heart and I’m proud of that grit they showed,” added Huber.
Gustavus will be back in action on October 15th when they take place in the UW-La Crosse Invitational.