Friday, October 04, 2013

Gopher Men Fourth at Notre Dame; Women Win Bluegold Invitational

The Gopher Men's XC team placed fourth at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday with 155 points. Columbia, ranked 30th in the nation won  (113),  seventh ranked Tulsa was second with 124 points,  and ninth ranked  Princeton (147) was third. For the second week in a row, senior John Simons paced the Gophers. Simons finished fourth in 24:31.7 for 8K.

A trio of Gophers finished in the mid-30s of the individual race. Adam Zutz was 34th(25:03.8), Andrew Larsen 36th(25:05) Steve Sulkin 37th25:06.4), Blayne Dulian 44th(25:11.7), followed by  Derek Storkel (56th, 25:22.2), Alex Brend (58th, 25:23.7), Riley Macon (117th, 25:58.1) and Christian Skaret (125th, 26:05.8).

Full meet results are HERE

Redshirt freshmen Haley Johnson and Taylor Mikkalson each recorded career-best times to lead the Gopher women's cross country team to a first-place finish at the Blugold Invitational at Whitetail Golf Course Friday evening. Minnesota posted a team score of 44 led by Johnson's fourth-place finish.

Johnson recorded a 6K time of 22:09.10, marking her second-straight career-best outing. The Plymouth, Wis., native took over 10 seconds off her Griak time.  Mikkalson also bettered a career-best mark from the Griak, taking sixth in 22:17.02 and cutting 38 seconds off her time from last week.

The trio of senior Cassy Opitz (22:37.34), senior Katie Hill (22:38.06) and sophomore Hannah Trasser (22:40.28) rounded out the Gophers' top five. Opitz came in 10th in the team standings (14th overall) with Hill on her heels in 11th (15th overall). Trasser was amid the pack as well, taking 13th place (17th overall). Junior Chelsea Pettit was 23rd overall in 22:52.71, and sophomore Lauren Domskifinished 25th overall in 22:56.36.

Several Gophers ran unattached, led by Ashlie Decker's fifth-place showing in 22:12.14. Jamie Piepenburg also placed among the top 10 individual finishers, posting an eighth-place time of 22:17.67.
UW-La Crosse (94 points), St. Olaf (105), Winona State (124) and Carleton College (133) rounded out the top five in the team standings. Luther's Tricia Serres claimed the individual crown in 21:47.50. Athletes from 25 different teams competed in the meet.

Gopher runners also raced at the SDSU Classic in Brookings, SD on Friday evening. Up next for Minnesota is the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in Madison, Wis., and the Tori Neubauer Invite in La Crosse, Wis., both on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Bluegold results are HERE.

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