University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 4
South Bend, Ind. / Burke Golf Course
12:00 p.m. Central
vs
Joe Piane Invitational
Women take third at Piane Invitational to wrap up multi-meet day
10/4/2024 9:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Men's Gold 8K Results (Piane Invitational)Women's Gold 5K Results (Piane Invitational)Men's Open 8K Results (Piane Invitational)Women's Open 5K Results (Piane Invitational)Women's 6K Results (Blugold Invite)
Total of 12 men set personal records led by Sean McNiesh with 42nd place finish in Gold 8K
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Thomas women's cross country took a third-place finish in the Joe Piane Invitational's Gold 5,000-meter race Friday afternoon to highlight the multi-meet day. The men's team saw 12 personal records set overall at the Piane Invitational, led by Sean McNiesh with a 42nd place finish in the Gold 8K.
Molly Desotell led Tommie Women's Cross Country with a 13th place time of 17:34.2 in the Gold 5K race on the campus of Notre Dame. Ava Pankratz followed in 21st in 17:47.3 while Elsie Kmecak took 28th in 17:47.4, both setting personal bests. The freshman duo of Sophie Yetter and Olivia Pauly rounded out the top five scorers as Yetter took 50th in 18:14.0 and Pauly took 54th in 18:15.9.
In the Open 5K race, freshman Emily Baker led the way in 71st with a time of 18:59.4 followed by fellow freshman Amber Haukoos in 75th in 19:02.8.
McNiesh led the Tommie men in the Gold 8K race with a personal best time of 25:00.5. Another freshman duo neared the top of the scorers as Kai Liljequist took 53rd in 25:10.0 and Ethan Foote took 68th in 25:25.6, both setting personal records. Adam Lueth (25:30.1) and Max Westerlund (25:31.1) finished back-to-back in 77th and 78th, respectively with personal records times.
Joe McNeil paced the men in the Open 8K with a personal record time of 25:13.5 to finish 45th. Freshmen Brock Bjerke (25:39.9) and Ben Stricker (25:43.6) both set personal bests while finishing 59th and 62nd, respectively.
The Tommie women finished third among 23 teams in the Piane Gold 5K with 166 points, following Indiana State in first with 85 points and Appalachian State in second with 106 points. The Tommie men finished 14th among 18 teams with 297 points.
The Tommie women also sent six runners to the Blugold Invite hosted by UW-Eau Claire in Colfax, Wis. Olivia Goebel paced St. Thomas in the 6K race with a time of 23:38.2 to finish 32nd followed by Lauren Ellefson in 48th with a time of 23:55.1. As a team, the Tommies finished sixth among 13 teams with 188 points and an average time of 23:59.
UP NEXT
Both Tommie Cross Country programs take another two-week hiatus before returning to action Oct. 18 at the Pink Classic, hosted by Bradley.
Both Tommie Cross Country programs take another two-week hiatus before returning to action Oct. 18 at the Pink Classic, hosted by Bradley.
QUOTEABLES
Thoughts from women's head coach Ashley Lucas:
"Today was a great day to be a Tommie! The women really embraced the challenge and ran with it. I asked them to trust themselves, trust each other, and compete fiercely — and they absolutely delivered. The results speak for themselves, and I couldn't be prouder of their performance. Now, it's time to get back to work, avoid complacency, and set our sights on Bradley.
"The women who raced at Eau Claire did an excellent job. It's a tough course, so it's encouraging to see how they've progressed since Griak. They found their teammates and worked well together to move up. I'm excited to have the full team back together as we head into Bradley."
Thoughts from men's head coach Pete Wareham:
"Today wasn't our best day as a team, and there's definitely some disappointment. That said, we did see some notable performances at the individual level. Joe McNeil raced well and Kai Liljequist had a strong race. We need to collect ourselves a bit and refocus moving forward. I am sure our guys are looking forward to racing next at Bradley."
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on St. Thomas Cross Country, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's and Women's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @tommiemtfxc and @tommiewxctf
For more information on St. Thomas Cross Country, follow along on X (formerly Twitter) at @TommieXCTF. For more information on St. Thomas Men's and Women's Cross Country, follow along on Instagram at @tommiemtfxc and @tommiewxctf
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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