SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s and women’s cross country teams are set for the NCAA Central Region Championships on Saturday at Wartburg College. The men’s race begins at 11 a.m. with the women to follow at noon.
The region meet allows seven runners from each team. The Gustie men will race Andrew Stumbo (Jr., Boone, Iowa), Garet Grant (So., Winona), Noah Johnson (So., Stillwater), Ben Wicklund (So., Marine on St. Croix), Casey Olson (Jr., Harmony), Jeremy Gilbertson (Jr., Maple Grove), and Matthew Payne (So., Stillwater). The women will feature Tierney Winter (Sr., Waterville), Kourtney Kulseth (Jr., New Richland), Iliana Ramon (So., Fairmont), Mackinzee Miest (So., Saint James), Lily Engebretson (So., Saint Paul), Gabriella Passmore (Sr., Mapleton), and Josie Blake (Jr., Waukegan, Ill.).
Both the Gustie women and men finished fourth at the MIAC Championships two weeks ago. Winter became the second fastest runner in the 6k-era of Gustavus women’s cross country history, taking second place individually with a time of 21:56.9. Winter’s second place All-Conference finish is also the best by a Gustie since Hailey Harren won the MIAC title in 2005. Kulseth and Ramon earned All-Conference honorable mention, finishing in 18th and 24th place, respectively. Kulseth crossed the line in 22:47.6 and Ramon was close behind at 23:11.9.
The men were highlighted by Grant and Stumbo with All-Conference performances. Grant finished 12th in 25:44.7 and Stumbo took 14th in 25:53.7. Johnson earned All-Conference honorable mention with a 21st place finish, crossing the line in 26:10.4.