NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's cross country team competed at the St. Olaf Invitational Saturday. The team ran to an 18
th place finish in a very strong field that featured both Division II and Division III teams.
Complete Meet Results"Strong performance by the Eagle harriers today after a two week racing hiatus," said head coach
Steve Thiessen. "The cooler temps this day certainly contributed to the improved performances."
The Eagles accumulated a team time of 2:28:00 in the contest. Sophomore
Wil Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) once again led the way, finishing the 8K in a time of 28:28.9. Maki is now just 30 seconds shy of his personal best of 27:28 set at last year's Central Region Championship.
Jackson Peterson (Carlton, Minn./Carlton) wasn't far behind Maki, as Peterson raced to a time of 28:41.2, while
Garrett Crown (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Christian Academy) (29:53.2) and
Eric Melendez (Richfield, Minn./Eagle Ridge Academy) (30:02.8) were the next two finishers for UNW.
Sophomore
Wil Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) on the meet, ""I was really excited with this meet both personally and for the team. It felt good to hit a time like that this early in the season as well as see such big improvements from the guys in their times as well. Excited to see how the rest of the season goes."
Paul Brown (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) on Saturday's race, "This race reminded me again how much I love to run. Focusing on doing the best that I can do each mile really helped me accomplish what I needed to accomplish. I'm thankful God has helped me through this race as well... all glory goes to Him!"
Brown ran a time of 35:51 today, only 42 seconds off his personal best of last season.
"We're a young team but it's exciting to see them coming together through the rigors of our daily training runs, strength training and core development," added Thiessen.
"Our freshmen are having an immediate impact on the team's scoring as Crown, Melendez and Wipf all figured into the top seven scoring," said Thiessen. "They will play a key role in the team's placing at the conference champion in late October."
UNW will next compete at the prestigious Griak Invitational next Saturday in St. Paul. The women's race will get underway at 10:40 a.m.
