DECORAH, IA (blugolds.com) In the final meet before the NCAA Postseason competition begins, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire cross country teams traveled down to Luther College for the Luther Saga Cup. The women's team finished 2nd behind a strong Wartburg women's team, with the Knights scoring 26 points and the Blugolds scoring 33 points.
On the women's side, Ashley Kachurik (Jr. - Wadsworth, IL/Warren Township) led the way for the Blugolds, finishing in 4th overall with a time of 23:35.3 for the 6k distance. Julia Karls (Jr. - St. Cloud, MN/Apollo) came in right behind her, also running 23:35.8 and taking home 5th place.
Rounding out the top 5 for the Blugolds were Alanna Huggett (Sr. - Marshall, WI/Marshall), Allison Wessinger (Fr. - River Falls, WI/River Falls), and Abby Lewis (Jr. - Austin, MN/Austin). Huggett finished in 6th and ran 23:44.7, Wessinger finished 8th and ran 24:04.7, and Lewis finished 10th, running 24:06.8.
The men's team finished 4th out of 7 teams, scoring 103 points. The meet champion was Wartburg, scoring 15 team points to win the meet.
To lead the Blugolds, Alex Carlson (So. - Bristol, IL/Marmion Academy) finished in 11th place, running 26:52.6 for the 8k distance. Coming in right behind him was Sam Verkerke (So. - White Bear Township, MN/White Bear Lake), finishing in 16th place, running 26:56..0.
Sid Gross (Sr. - Saint Paul, Mn/Highland Park), Eric Kordus (So. - Mosinee, WI/Mosinee), and Jack Hesse-Withbroe (Fr. - Stillwater, MN/Stillwater) were the next three finishers for the Blugolds to round out the team scoring. Gross finished in 32nd, running 27:24.3, Kordus was 33rd and ran 27:25.4, and Hesse-Withbroe was 35th, running 27:27.9.
Next up for the Blugolds will be the NCAA North Regional Meet, held at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wisconsin, with the Blugolds being the meet host.
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