ETTRICK, Wis. — With one meet remaining until the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota cross country coach
Ward Berndt was looking for a statement performance.
Which is exactly what
Jovan Newsum gave him.
The Cardinal freshman, who had been the second Cardinal finisher behind
Aaron Haley through the Cardinals' first four meets, traded places with his Cardinal teammate on Saturday, clocking an eight-kilometer time of 26:22 to lead the Saint Mary's men to a 20th-place finish at the UW-La Crosse Jim Drews Invitational.
Katie Stolz led the way for the Saint Mary's women at the UW-L Tori Neubauer Invitational, touring the 6K Ettrick Golf Course layout in 23:26 to help the Cardinals to a 26th-place showing.
"We've got some things we need to work out before the conference championships, but I also thought we got some pretty solid performances," said Berndt. "Jovan ran a great race—that was definitely the highlight of the day for us."
Haley finished right behind Newsum in the men's race, posting a time of 26:276, while
Austin O'Hare (27:51),
Sherman Moga (28:08),
Jase Pater (28:34),
Andy Meyer (29:50) and
Brandon Krogman (30:26) rounded out the Cardinals' top seven.
Along with Stolz's time of 23:26, the Cardinal women also got a 25:06 from Clare Siska, with Mary Hayes (25:46), Allie Thiel (26:15), Paige Schernecker (26:50), Ashley Bollig (27:01) and Josie Moreno (27:08) rounded out the Saint Mary's lineup.
The University of Minnesota ran away with the Jim Drews team title, finishing with 55 points—26 betters than runner-up Iowa Central. Iowa Central captured the top to individual spots, as Elisha Kipruto (24:32) and Franklin Tonui (24:34) finished 1-2.
On the women's side, UW-La Crosse was the Tori Neubauer crown, finishing with 61 points, 54 points in front of runner-up Winona State. Iowa Central's Viola Kebenei was the women's individual champion, crossing the finish line in 21:31, with UW-L's Lauren Mead second in 21:37.
The Cardinals are back in action, and back on the road, on Nov 1, when Saint Mary's heads to Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn., to take part in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships
