COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The men’s and women’s cross country teams took to Collegeville, Minn. Friday night to compete in the Saint John’s Fall Finale. The Gusties competed against athletes from Saint John’s and Saint Benedict, posting five top-15 finishes.
“The Saint John’s meet used to be a bigger meet, but now it’s an opportunity to give some of our kids an extra chance that haven’t been running at the front to compete,” said Head Coach Brenden Huber on the meet. “It’s a really fun event for our team and it helps our athletes get valuable experience running at this level.”
On the women’s side, Christina Schmidt (Jr., Eyota) led the way for the Gusties with a time of 21:38 and a fifth-place finish. Not far behind her was Anna Omdal (So., Minneapolis) in seventh (21:45). Lauren Tillman (Jr., Maple Grove) posted a 15th-place finish in 23:03, while Nadia English (Sr., Eden Prairie) finished the course in 24:04 for 21st.
“I could really highlight all four of our ladies that competed today — that’s how excellent they were. Each one of them had the best day of their season today, and it showed in how they competed.”
On the men’s side, Jackson Miest (Jr., St. James) posted the fastest finish, crossing the line 11th with a time of 28:19. The next five Gusties finished in a pack from 17th to 21st, led by Jonah Kalsnes (So., Thief River Falls) in 28:52, Hogan Smith (Fy., Decorah, Iowa) in 29:36, Sam Marble (Sr., Eden Prairie) in 29:46, Mark Rud (Fy., Waconia) in 30:03, and Will Janzen (Fy., Minneapolis) rounding out the Gustie men in 30:30.
“Our guys went out there today and took their best shot. It was a tougher race for some of them who haven’t had as much experience. But, it was good to get some people in the top ten, and our guys had fun with the experience.”