St. Peter, Minn. – After taking this past weekend off from competition, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s cross country teams will get back on the course Saturday when they travel to Northfield, Minnesota for the St. Olaf College Invitational. The men’s 8k race will begin at 10 a.m. and the women’s 6k race will follow at 11 a.m.
Gustavus last competed on September 6 when both the men’s and women’s teams competed in the Central College Dutch Invitational in Pella, Iowa. Both teams came away from that meet with third place finishes. Thomas Knobbe (So., Decorah, Iowa) led the men’s team by finishing the 8k race in 26:25, just one second behind eighth place finisher Steve Loran of Loras. Marit Sonnesyn (Jr., Plymouth, Minn.) paced the women by running the 6k race in 23:40 for a fourth place finish.
At last season’s St. Olaf Invitational, the Gustavus women’s team placed sixth out of 15 teams. Caitlin Fermoyle (Sr., Mendota Heights, Minn.) is the top returning runner from that race, placing 14th with a time of time of 23:19. The men’s team placed ninth our of 16 teams with Evan Jones (So., Pella, Iowa) being the top returner. Jones placed 37th and finished the race in 26:58.
A total of 45 teams will compete on Saturday including institutions from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Illinois.