Winnecone, Wis. - The Scarlet Hawk's Cross Country teams traveled to Winnecone, WI on Saturday to compete at the UW-Oshkosh Kollege Town Invitational. In a field that consisted of numerous regionally and nationally ranked teams, the men and women gained valuable experience at the course that will be next month's DIII Midwest Cross Country Regional Championships at Lake Breeze Golf Club. 

 

The men's team was paced by Fr. Louis Ketchman, clocking in at a personal best time of 27:10.8. The next three Scarlet Hawks were all close behind. They were: So. Evan Balizado (27:26.6), So. Julian Go (27:30.3) and Jr. Tom Doyle (27:46.8). Also competing for the men were Jr. Mo Saleem (31:21.0) and Fr. Spencer Clark (34:20.2). 

 

Head Coach Tyler McQuality had the following to say the men's performance, "I still think we are a lot better than the results show. We are just now beginning the process of freshening and sharpening up for the championship season ahead of us. I am most impressed with our willingness to gain experience at a different type of meet than we have raced at all year. This will help us come Regionals and in the years to come as we are able to compete at a higher level in national caliber fields" 

 

The women were paced again by Sr. Erin Nelson, who clocked in a near personal best time of 26:23.4. Also competing for the women was Fr. Abigail Schulz, returning from injury to clock in a time of 29:00.9.

 

Assistant Coach Desmond Meyer had to say, "This week's race for the women was a good one. We have faced some illnesses and injuries, but they were able to put that behind them and run with toughness at Oshkosh. I think now that we are going to be refreshed heading into the championship season, the girls will surprise themselves with their performances whether it is with a personal best or a specific placing. I'm looking forward to these next couple of weeks!"

 

The team will be off this coming week in preparation for next week's NACC Championships to be held at Greenfield Park in West Allis, WI.