University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, September 29
South Bend, Ind. / Burke Golf Course
11:00 a.m. Central
vs
Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite
Photo by: Patrick Hart
Men grab fourth, women take eighth at Joe Piane Invitational
9/29/2023 5:53:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Tommie Cross Country men finish with three among top 16, Desotell takes eighth for women Friday
ST. PAUL, Minn. – On a meet day featuring multiple races, St. Thomas men's and women's cross country provided a strong showing at the Joe Piane Invitational in South Bend, Ind., and the Blugold Invite in Colfax, Wis.
At the Piane Invitational, the women featured student-athletes in both the Open 5K and the Gold 5K, taking eighth of 19 programs in the gold race. Junior Molly Desotell paced all Tommies with an eighth place finish in the gold race with a personal record time of 17:31.0, topping her previous best by almost 30 seconds.
A trio of student-athletes led the men's program in the Gold 5-Mile race at the Joe Piane Invitational, helping the team to a fifth place finish among 16 teams. Sophomore Caden Nordberg led the Purple with a 10th place time of 24:38.8, followed by grad student Colton Halla in 12th with a time of 24:41.4 and junior Charlie Caven in 16th with a time of 24:43.1.
JOE PIANE INVITATIONAL
MEN'S 5-MILE RUN
St. Thomas tied Loyola Marymount with 157 points but placed fifth with an average time of 25:03.7. Sophomore Sean McNiesh placed 51st in a time of 25:23.9 while freshman Adam Lueth rounded out the Tommies' top five with a 72nd-place time of 25:51.0.
WOMEN'S 5K RUN
The Tommies finished with 200 points to place eighth overall in the gold division. Following Desotell was juniors Ava Pankratz, Gabriella Witschen, and Christina Bolcer, all within nine spots of each other. Pankratz placed 37th with a time of 18:14.8, Witschen took 40th in 18:18.7, and Bolcer finished 46th with a time of 18:24.6. All five of the Tommies' top finishers set 5K personal records.
BLUGOLD INVITE
WOMEN'S 6K RUN
Three Tommies competed at the Blugold Invite, led by freshman Reese Gustafson with a time of 24:28.4 to finish 88th. Sophomore Elizabeth Gregory took 124th with a time of 25:12.9 while freshman Ann Boland took 154th with a time of 25:56.4.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from men's head coach Pete Wareham following its fourth place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational:
"I saw a lot of things that I liked about our team on the course today. We had a strong upfront running with Caden, Cole, and Charlie. It was great having Caden back with us competing this week.
"We also closed the gap within our top five compared to last week and that was one of our goals. Sean McNiesh had a great race today.
"We have four weeks and another race prior to the Summit League Championship. I am confident in our guys and really looking forward to the upcoming weeks."
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas following Friday's race at the Joe Piane Invitational:
"I think the women raced really well today. They put themselves in good position and competed hard to the finish. We talked about key points on the course and I think they executed our game plan very well. Another week of numerous 5K cross country personal records which is always nice and I think they walked away with a lot of confidence.
"We are excited to set our eyes on Bradley which is one of the women's favorite courses to race."
UP NEXT
The Tommie Men's and Women's Cross Country takes a two-week hiatus before returning to the course Friday, Oct. 13 at the Pink Classic hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Cross Country, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @TommieMTFXC.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
At the Piane Invitational, the women featured student-athletes in both the Open 5K and the Gold 5K, taking eighth of 19 programs in the gold race. Junior Molly Desotell paced all Tommies with an eighth place finish in the gold race with a personal record time of 17:31.0, topping her previous best by almost 30 seconds.
A trio of student-athletes led the men's program in the Gold 5-Mile race at the Joe Piane Invitational, helping the team to a fifth place finish among 16 teams. Sophomore Caden Nordberg led the Purple with a 10th place time of 24:38.8, followed by grad student Colton Halla in 12th with a time of 24:41.4 and junior Charlie Caven in 16th with a time of 24:43.1.
JOE PIANE INVITATIONAL
MEN'S 5-MILE RUN
St. Thomas tied Loyola Marymount with 157 points but placed fifth with an average time of 25:03.7. Sophomore Sean McNiesh placed 51st in a time of 25:23.9 while freshman Adam Lueth rounded out the Tommies' top five with a 72nd-place time of 25:51.0.
WOMEN'S 5K RUN
The Tommies finished with 200 points to place eighth overall in the gold division. Following Desotell was juniors Ava Pankratz, Gabriella Witschen, and Christina Bolcer, all within nine spots of each other. Pankratz placed 37th with a time of 18:14.8, Witschen took 40th in 18:18.7, and Bolcer finished 46th with a time of 18:24.6. All five of the Tommies' top finishers set 5K personal records.
BLUGOLD INVITE
WOMEN'S 6K RUN
Three Tommies competed at the Blugold Invite, led by freshman Reese Gustafson with a time of 24:28.4 to finish 88th. Sophomore Elizabeth Gregory took 124th with a time of 25:12.9 while freshman Ann Boland took 154th with a time of 25:56.4.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from men's head coach Pete Wareham following its fourth place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational:
"I saw a lot of things that I liked about our team on the course today. We had a strong upfront running with Caden, Cole, and Charlie. It was great having Caden back with us competing this week.
"We also closed the gap within our top five compared to last week and that was one of our goals. Sean McNiesh had a great race today.
"We have four weeks and another race prior to the Summit League Championship. I am confident in our guys and really looking forward to the upcoming weeks."
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas following Friday's race at the Joe Piane Invitational:
"I think the women raced really well today. They put themselves in good position and competed hard to the finish. We talked about key points on the course and I think they executed our game plan very well. Another week of numerous 5K cross country personal records which is always nice and I think they walked away with a lot of confidence.
"We are excited to set our eyes on Bradley which is one of the women's favorite courses to race."
UP NEXT
The Tommie Men's and Women's Cross Country takes a two-week hiatus before returning to the course Friday, Oct. 13 at the Pink Classic hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Women's Cross Country, follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @TommieMTFXC.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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