By Brett Haffner, UWEC Sports Information
COLFAX, WI. (blugolds.com) – On a hot and humid afternoon, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's cross country team took home the win at the Blugold Invitational, taking the edge over Carleton on a tie break, with each team scoring 70 points. The men's team finished 5th, tying with St. Olaf for 4th, with the Oles gaining the edge on the tie break, with each team scoring 131 points. The men's team champion was UW-Whitewater, scoring 38 points.
Women's Results | Men's Results
The ladies utilized a very patient first half of the race, moving up many positions in the finishing stretch. Katie Faris (Sr. – Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls) once again led the charge for the Blugold women, finishing in 5th place out of 355 runners, running 22:40.0 for the 6k distance.
On the women's team performance today: "We did a really nice job working together and pushing each other along," said Faris. "It was definitely challenging with the heat, but as a team we kept a positive mindset throughout and channeled that to motivate us further."
Emma Drangstveit (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/Lakeville North), Naomi Long (Sr. – Medina, MN/Wayzata), and Kylie Judd (Jr. – Anchorage, AK/AJ Diamond) all finished very strongly together, taking home 14th, 15th, and 16th places, respectively. Drangstveit ran 23:11.2, Long ran 23:14.4, and Judd finished in 23:16.9.
Coming in right behind them, Carolyn Shult (Jr – Augusta,WI/Augusta) rounded out the scoring for the Blugolds, finishing in 20th place and running 23:23.2 over 6k.
On the men's side, Tyler Osen was the Blugolds' top finisher, coming in 11th place and running 25:38.6 for the 8k distance. Coming in next behind him, Connor Dolan (Sr. – Nekoosa, WI/Assumption) finished in 14th place, running 25:42.3.
"I thought that the team had a good overall day considering the conditions," Osen said. "As a team we gained a lot of toughness and got used to the course we will be at for some of our important races of the season."
The Blugolds had another tight trio to round out the team scoring, with Dan Lau (Sr. – Eau Claire, WI/Immanuel Lutheran), Jace Bartz (Sr. – White Bear Lake/White Bear Lake), and Mason Shea (Fr. – River Falls, WI/River Falls), finishing in 31st, 37th, and 39th, respectively. Lau ran 26:13.2, Bartz ran 26:17.3, and Shea ran 26:19.5.
After the races, Head Coach Dan Schwamberger commended his teams' performances during the abnormal race climate. "The hot weather made for challenging conditions but overall I was impressed with how both the men and women handled the less than ideal conditions. Now we have to recover and continue focusing training smart so we're ready to race our best in November. "
Up next for the Blugolds will be a trip to UW-La Crosse for the Jim Drews Invitational, on October 15th, in West Salem, WI. The men are scheduled for a 4:30 PM start with the women starting after at 5:20 PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
