Men's Results | Women's Results | GameDay Preview

ETTRICK, Wis. — With just one meet to go before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota cross country coach Ward Berndt was hoping to see a pair of Cardinal teams clicking on all cylinders.
 
And with Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.) and Alyssa Thiel (Berlin, Wis.) in the driver's seat, that's exactly what Berndt got Saturday afternoon at the UW-La Crosse Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational.
 
Newsum clocked an eight-kilometer time of 26:14 to finish 20^th overall and lead the Cardinal men to a 17^th-place showing at the Jim Drews Invitational, while Thiel led the way for the Saint Mary's women, posting her career-best 6K time in helping the Cardinals to a 22nd-place team finish at the Tori Neubauer Invitational.
 
For Newsum, there's something about the Jim Drews Invitational that brings out the best in the Cardinal senior, who clocked his best time of the season at the event for the second year in a row—this time around, stopping the clock in 26:14.
 
Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.) was the second Cardinal to cross the finish line, posting a time of 27:20, followed by Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn. / 28:56), Sherman Moga (Shoreview, Minn. / 29:44), Ben Borash (Bowlus, Minn. / 29:54), and Marlon Barrett-Dwyer (Chicago, Ill. / 35:09).
 
Alyssa Thiel was at her best in leading the Cardinal women, crushing her career-best 6K time with a 24:55 showing. Danielle Franke (Mounds View, Minn.) and Erica Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill.) were close behind , posting times of 25:15 and 25:26, respectively, with Molly Sweet (Prescott, Wis. / 26:30), Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn. / 26:51), Emily Ortiz (Albert Lea, Minn. / 27:19), and Paige Schernecker (Manawa, Wis. / 28:11) rounding out the Cardinals' top seven.
 
Iowa Central edged out host UW-La Crosse to win the team title at the Jim Drews Invitational, sweeping the top four individual spots—led by Omer Almog's winning time of 25:00—en route to the team crown, 34 points in front of the runner-up Eagles. St. Olaf was third, with Nebraska Wesleyan and the Minnesota Running Club rounding out the top five.
 
UW-La Crosse ran away with the women's title at the Tori Neubauer Invitational, outdistancing runner-up Nebraska Wesleyan by 63 points. The University of Minnesota was third, followed by St. Olaf and Iowa Central. Iowa's Central's Leanne Pompeani took home individual honors, winning the 6K event with a time of 21:17.
 
The Cardinals are now off until Oct. 29, when they head to Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn., for the MIAC Championships. Women will run at 11 a.m., with the men following at noon.