John Kipper, Staff Writer

Both the women’s and men’s cross-country teams had a rough go at Willamette Invitational in Salem, Ore., finishing last. However, the meet featured teams from all three NCAA athletic divisions with Augsburg fielding one of the smallest teams. Boise State’s women’s and men’s teams both won the meet.

    On a more positive note, five of the seven men’s runners for Auggie set personal-record times on the 8,000-meter course. First-year Mohamed Salad led the way for the men’s team with a time of 26:41.7, beating his previous PR by five minutes. Fellow first-year Cesar Martinez Vega ran his first collegiate race and finished with a time of 33:18.4. Rounding out the first-year group was Kevin Sethre, who set a PR with a time of 29:03.2. Senior Ryan Moore set a PR of 28:11.8. Junior Jackson Gerber was the fifth Auggie to PR, completing the race in a time of 30:51.4.

    The women’s team ran the 5,000-meter course, with first-year Ann Sheely leading the Auggies, finishing with a time of 20:16.0. Grace Hartman and Camryn Masse were two other first-years to compete. Hartman finished with a time of 24:23.1 while Masse completed the course in 25:03.0. Sophomore Zoe Huebner ran a time of 22:1.5, finishing just ahead of sophomore teammate Jasmine Gonzalez, who had a time of 25:32.5. Junior Allison Mangan finished in 27:10.3. Rounding out the eight-woman squad was senior Cait Olson, who finished with a time of 21:14.4.

     Up next for the Auggies is Tori Neubauer Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. This is the final meet before the MIAC Championships, so best of luck to them!

This article first appeared in the Friday, October 12 edition of The Echo.

Cross country athlete Ryan Moore competes in the 8K race. Photo by Cole Armstrong