COLFAX, Wis. – The University of Northwestern Men's Cross Country team lined up for the Blugold Invitational on Friday, continuing to show steady progress across the board. UNW faced one of the largest and most competitive fields of the season with more than 300 runners and programs from across the Midwest, and finished 31st overall.

Tyler Dueber (Bloomington, Minn./Homeschool) led Northwestern in his first 8k of the year, clocking a personal record time of 29:04.6. Caleb Phillips (Poplar, Wis./South Shore) followed with a massive breakthrough, running nearly two minutes faster than his previous time, finishing at 30:22.9. Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) also improved with a time of 30:37.6, cutting more than two minutes off his season best.

Peter Kephart (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) turned in his strongest race of the year with a 31:10.8 finish, improving by over a minute and a half. Grayson Lecher (St. Paul, Minn./Concordia Academy) and Samuel Otis (Shoreview, Minn./Homeschool) each recorded new PRs with times of 32:51.6 and 33:26.2, respectively. Rounding out the lineup, Joshua Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) completed his first race of the season in 33:55.9.

The Eagles will now look ahead to their final regular-season competition at the Kent Finanger Invitational, hosted by Luther College in Waseca, Minn., on Friday, October 11 at 11:00 AM.