The Gustavus men’s and women’s cross country teams will travel to Decorah, Iowa on Saturday to take part in the All-American Invitational hosted by Luther College. The meet will include many of the top small college cross country squads in the Upper Midwest. The Gusties will be looking to continue the strong running they displayed in winning both the men’s and women’s races at the Bethany Lutheran Invitational on Sept. 1.
The Gustie men finished first out of five teams in their opening meet of the season, which was run at Land of Memories Park in Mankato. Nick Ross led the way for Gustavus as he finished first in a time of 26:58.8. Alex Thornton was the second runner to cross the line as he was 14 seconds behind Ross with a time of 27:12.1. Others scoring for the Gusties included Mark Bartley (6th) in a time of 28:40.1, Anders Bowman (8th) in 28:49.9, Adam Lund (9th) in 28:55.4, and Kurt Prieve (15th) in a time of 29:36.9. Final team scores were: Gustavus (26), Carleton (45), Bethany Lutheran (87), Martin Luther (91), and Northland (130).
The Gustie women also picked up a first place finish out of four teams at the meet. Gustavus dominated the race as the first 19 runners across the line were Gusties. Kate Eggers led the way as she finished first in a time of 24:12.3. She was followed by Liz Hauer (2nd) in 24:29.1, Brooke Beskau (3rd) in 24:34.9, Laura Secor (4th) in 24:46.3, and Kim Rostvold (5th) in 24:59.3.
Saturday’s appearance in Decorah is the first ever by the Gustavus men’s and women’s cross country teams in the All-American Invitational.