By Alanna Huggett, UWEC Sports Information
NORTHFIELD, Min. (Blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire men's cross country raced their first 8k of the season at the St. Olaf Invitational meet Saturday, September 21. The men finished in second place out of 10 teams. The Blugolds scored 44 points with home team St. Olaf winning the meet with 25 points.
Connor Dolan (Jr. - Nekoosa, WI/Assumption) was the overall meet champion, finishing first with a time of 26:24.8.
Reflecting on his race Dolan said, "I thought my individual race went well. I wasn't sure what to expect in the race, so I wanted to practice competing and trusting myself in races."
The second Blugold to cross the finishing line was Jake Petri (Jr. - Cottage Grove, WI/Muskego) who finished ninth with a time of 27:22.7. Closely behind Petri were Bailey Wilson (Sr. – New Richmond, WI) and Sid Gross (So. - Saint Paul, MN/Highland Park). Wilson finished 10th with a time of 27:24.0 and Gross finished 11th with a time of 27:24.2.
Rounding out the top 5 for the men's team was Tyler Osen (Fr. - Lakeville, MN/Lakeville North). Osen finished in 27:28.9 in 13th place. Osen was followed by teammate Zach Yengo (So. - Eau Claire, WI/Eau Claire Regis) who finished the race in 15th place with a time of 27:40.8. Jace Bartz (So. - White Bear Lake, MN) was the seventh Blugold to cross the line, finishing 16th with a time of 27:47.4.
Dolan also remarked on the team's performance at the meet, commending his teammates for their smart race strategy.
"I thought the team did a very good job competing and racing smart," said Dolan. "For a lot of them it was their very first collegiate race, so I was impressed with the maturity that they raced with."
Head Coach Dan Schwamberger thought the invite was a successful first race for the Blugolds against other collegiate teams.
"The majority of the team did a nice job executing our race plan of running smart early, working with teammates in the middle and finishing strong," said Schwamberger, who also said he is looking forward to the team's next race in two weeks – the Blugold Invite.
The men's cross country team will compete again at the Blugold Invite on Friday, October 4 at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax Wis.
