University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 17
Peoria, Ill.
11:45 a.m. CT
vs
Pink Classic
Photo by: Nick Wosika
Lindsay Berg takes top finish as Tommie Cross Country completes Pink Classic
10/17/2025 5:48:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Max Westerlund paced the men placing 13th among 191 runners
PEORIA, Ill. – St. Thomas men's and women's cross country put together a string of personal record times Friday afternoon at the Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill., hosted by Bradley University. The Tommie women recorded team finishes of 11th and 5th in their respective 6,000-meter races while the men took 9th and 11th in their 8,000-meter races.
WOMEN'S RECAP
Freshman Lindsay Berg placed first among the Tommie women for the first time this season, leading the team to an 11th place finish among 21. She placed 29th overall among 205 athletes with a personal record of 21:17.98, edging out sophomore Olivia Pauly (45th, 21:35.45) who set a personal record and had led the Tommies in the previous three meets. Also setting personal records were the team's next three finishers in sophomore Sophie Yetter (77th, 21:57.48), sophomore Olivia Goebel (88th, 22:06.65) and freshman Layla Vennink (89th, 22:07.30).
Leading the Tommies to a fifth-place finish among 21 teams was freshman Lauren Risdal, taking 22nd of 220 runners with a personal record 22:47.91. Junior Chiara White took 32nd in a personal record 22:58.97 followed just behind by Ann Boland in 33rd with a personal record 22:59.83. St. Thomas' final two point-scorers were freshman Melana Webber (40th, 23:13.39) and senior Malayh Metcalf (42nd, 23:15.91).
MEN'S RECAP
The men's team finished top nine in both the red and white races, placing ninth of 21 teams in the red race and fourth of 18 teams in the white race. Junior Max Westerlund led the Tommies for the second straight meet, setting a personal record of 24:26.02 to place 13th of 191 runners. Freshman Casey Poppler was the next Tommie finisher in 53rd with a time of 25:06.27, followed by junior Joe McNeil (64th, 25:17.84) and sophomore Ben Stricker (69th, 25:23.44) with a personal record. Junior Adam Lueth (90th, 25:34.76) rounded out the team's top five.
The five Tommies' runners to compete in the white race led the team to its fourth-place finish of 112 points. Sophomore Brock Bjerke (25:39.68) placed 14th of 221 runners, followed by sophomore Blake Burnstad (33rd, 26:07.83), junior Charlie Power-Theisen (36th, 26:18.24), freshman Lucas Esten (39th, 26:24.51) and sophomore Jonah Pearson (54th, 26:53.43).
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following Friday's Pink Classic:
"Today was a good tune-up for our Summit League Championship that will happen in two weeks. I liked how the middle group on the varsity continues to improve. In addition, Max Westerlund ran a terrific race for us up front. We know that the league is well balanced and we will need to compete at our highest level in a couple of weeks and we are tracking in that direction."
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the Tommies' 6K races:
"As with most cross country races, I think today was a mixed bag of results. I still don't think we have collectively put everything together and have had everyone have their best day on the same day which is a work in progress. A huge amount of returners ran the best they ever had here. In the White Race I thought Lauren (Risdal), Chiara (White), and Ann (Boland) had excellent races and Melana (Webber) and Reese (Gustafson) really raced well. In the Red Race Lindsay (Berg) had the race of her life and is truly coming into her own. Olivia Pauly ran well and Olivia Goebel is taking huge strides. We just need to continue to tighten our groups as we look forward to the races ahead."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will send a handful of athletes to the Rocky's Run meet hosted by the University of Minnesota on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Following the meet, the Tommies will prepare for the Summit League Championship on Saturday, Nov. 1 in Omaha, Neb.
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. Tommie Athletics is now on TikTok at @TommieSports.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
WOMEN'S RECAP
Freshman Lindsay Berg placed first among the Tommie women for the first time this season, leading the team to an 11th place finish among 21. She placed 29th overall among 205 athletes with a personal record of 21:17.98, edging out sophomore Olivia Pauly (45th, 21:35.45) who set a personal record and had led the Tommies in the previous three meets. Also setting personal records were the team's next three finishers in sophomore Sophie Yetter (77th, 21:57.48), sophomore Olivia Goebel (88th, 22:06.65) and freshman Layla Vennink (89th, 22:07.30).
Leading the Tommies to a fifth-place finish among 21 teams was freshman Lauren Risdal, taking 22nd of 220 runners with a personal record 22:47.91. Junior Chiara White took 32nd in a personal record 22:58.97 followed just behind by Ann Boland in 33rd with a personal record 22:59.83. St. Thomas' final two point-scorers were freshman Melana Webber (40th, 23:13.39) and senior Malayh Metcalf (42nd, 23:15.91).
MEN'S RECAP
The men's team finished top nine in both the red and white races, placing ninth of 21 teams in the red race and fourth of 18 teams in the white race. Junior Max Westerlund led the Tommies for the second straight meet, setting a personal record of 24:26.02 to place 13th of 191 runners. Freshman Casey Poppler was the next Tommie finisher in 53rd with a time of 25:06.27, followed by junior Joe McNeil (64th, 25:17.84) and sophomore Ben Stricker (69th, 25:23.44) with a personal record. Junior Adam Lueth (90th, 25:34.76) rounded out the team's top five.
The five Tommies' runners to compete in the white race led the team to its fourth-place finish of 112 points. Sophomore Brock Bjerke (25:39.68) placed 14th of 221 runners, followed by sophomore Blake Burnstad (33rd, 26:07.83), junior Charlie Power-Theisen (36th, 26:18.24), freshman Lucas Esten (39th, 26:24.51) and sophomore Jonah Pearson (54th, 26:53.43).
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following Friday's Pink Classic:
"Today was a good tune-up for our Summit League Championship that will happen in two weeks. I liked how the middle group on the varsity continues to improve. In addition, Max Westerlund ran a terrific race for us up front. We know that the league is well balanced and we will need to compete at our highest level in a couple of weeks and we are tracking in that direction."
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the Tommies' 6K races:
"As with most cross country races, I think today was a mixed bag of results. I still don't think we have collectively put everything together and have had everyone have their best day on the same day which is a work in progress. A huge amount of returners ran the best they ever had here. In the White Race I thought Lauren (Risdal), Chiara (White), and Ann (Boland) had excellent races and Melana (Webber) and Reese (Gustafson) really raced well. In the Red Race Lindsay (Berg) had the race of her life and is truly coming into her own. Olivia Pauly ran well and Olivia Goebel is taking huge strides. We just need to continue to tighten our groups as we look forward to the races ahead."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will send a handful of athletes to the Rocky's Run meet hosted by the University of Minnesota on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Following the meet, the Tommies will prepare for the Summit League Championship on Saturday, Nov. 1 in Omaha, Neb.
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. Tommie Athletics is now on TikTok at @TommieSports.
-- St. Thomas Athletics --
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men'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
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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