COLFAX, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's cross country team formed a perfect pack that finished near the top of Friday's Blugold Invitational at Whitetail Golf Course.
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But it wasn't quite up high enough as St. Olaf just edged out the Blugolds, 48 to 52, for the meet championship.
Eau Claire knocked off the Oles on their home course two weeks ago, but St. Olaf, the defending national champions, returned the favor this time around.
Josh Thorson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) was the top finisher on the team as he took fifth overall in a time of 24:45.6 over 8,000 meters.
The Blugold pack came after him, and nine seconds separated the next four Eau Claire runners.
Christian Leitner (Jr.-Red Wing, Minn.) emerged as the top Blugold in that pack, finishing 10th in a time of 25:17.5.
Erik Rosvold (Sr.-Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) finished 11th in 25:25.6. Darin Lau (Fr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Immanuel Lutheran) finished with an identical time to Rosvold as he took 12th.
Ryan Mugan (Jr.-Howards Grove, Wis.), an All-American a season ago, took 14th with a time of 25:26.1.
Eau Claire entered the meet ranked second in the nation while St. Olaf was ranked third.
Next up for the Blugolds is the UW-Oshkosh AAE Invitational on Oct. 18. Meet time for that event is 11:15 a.m.
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