University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 3
South Bend, Ind.
10:10 a.m. CT
vs
Joe Piane Invitational
Cross Countries post top-three finishes at Joe Piane Invitational
10/3/2025 8:18:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
Men place second, women take third in gold divisions while additional women ran at Blugold Invitational
SOUTH BEND, Ind. / EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The St. Thomas men's and women's cross country teams turned in top-three finishes over the weekend, racing Friday at the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame and at the Blugold Invitational hosted by UW-Eau Claire.
MEN'S RECAP
The Tommie men excelled in the Gold Division, finishing second of 21 teams with 131 points. Junior Max Westerlund led the way in ninth place at 24:34.9 (PR), with junior Adam Lueth close behind in 12th (24:39.0, PR) and freshman Casey Poppler 19th (24:51.4, PR). Juniors Isaac Nowak (43rd, 25:18.6, PR) and Joe McNeil (48th, 25:23.5) completed the scoring. In the Open Division, the Tommies placed second of six teams, paced by junior George Edgar (42nd, 25:26.6) and freshmen Nate Meyer (47th, 25:29.0, PR) and Lucas Esten (59th, 25:54.4, PR).
WOMEN'S RECAP
In South Bend, the Tommie women placed third of 22 teams in the Gold Division 5,000-meter race with 122 points. Sophomore Olivia Pauly led the charge with a seventh-place finish in 17:33.2, setting a personal record. She was followed by freshmen Layla Vennink (16th, 17:57.0) and Lindsay Berg (18th, 18:02.1), while sophomore Sophie Yetter (30th, 18:15.8) and sophomore Olivia Goebel (52nd, 18:39.6) rounded out the scoring five. Sophomore Emily Baker also posted a personal best in 18:50.5.
The women's open race featured a strong pack as St. Thomas placed fourth of seven teams. Freshman Ellie Moore led the Tommies in 18:57.3 (54th), while juniors Emmy Schulz (59th, 19:02.4), Chiara White (63rd, 19:05.2), and Ann Boland (66th, 19:07.8) each set new personal bests.
At the Blugold Invitational, the women's team finished 19th of 36. Freshman Lauren Heneman continued her strong start with a 46th-place finish and in a personal record 23:38.0 (PR), while classmates Melana Webber (90th, 24:15.0) and Natalie Tekampe (19th, 24:32.8) also turned in personal bests.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following the Roy Griak Invitational:
"We had a very strong team performance today. I am happy for our guys. There are some critical elements for our success, and we made improvements in these areas. Our top group of Max Westerlund, Adam Lueth and Casey Popper did exactly what we needed. Isaac Novak was tough out there too.
"What I liked from our team today is that we improved our team position over the last mile of the races. We think we can still improve in this area even more.
"It was very hot out there with temperatures at 82 degrees and no breeze, cloud cover or shade. Our guys did a great job in tough conditions."
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the team's races at Notre Dame and UW-Eau Claire:
"Today was a mixed bag of results but overall a solid day. I thought our top three ran awesome. We need to tighten up our four through seven spots but that'll come. Everyone in the open ran well, too. A lot of personal bests on this course even with the toasty conditions. I saw a lot of fight from the team and that's something you always want. In Eau Claire, I thought Lauren Heneman had a super race and is really coming into her own. Then we had a nice pack together which is always good to see. We're continuing to get better every day."
UP NEXT
The Tommies return to action Friday, Oct. 17, at the Pink Classic hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
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 --
MEN'S RECAP
The Tommie men excelled in the Gold Division, finishing second of 21 teams with 131 points. Junior Max Westerlund led the way in ninth place at 24:34.9 (PR), with junior Adam Lueth close behind in 12th (24:39.0, PR) and freshman Casey Poppler 19th (24:51.4, PR). Juniors Isaac Nowak (43rd, 25:18.6, PR) and Joe McNeil (48th, 25:23.5) completed the scoring. In the Open Division, the Tommies placed second of six teams, paced by junior George Edgar (42nd, 25:26.6) and freshmen Nate Meyer (47th, 25:29.0, PR) and Lucas Esten (59th, 25:54.4, PR).
WOMEN'S RECAP
In South Bend, the Tommie women placed third of 22 teams in the Gold Division 5,000-meter race with 122 points. Sophomore Olivia Pauly led the charge with a seventh-place finish in 17:33.2, setting a personal record. She was followed by freshmen Layla Vennink (16th, 17:57.0) and Lindsay Berg (18th, 18:02.1), while sophomore Sophie Yetter (30th, 18:15.8) and sophomore Olivia Goebel (52nd, 18:39.6) rounded out the scoring five. Sophomore Emily Baker also posted a personal best in 18:50.5.
The women's open race featured a strong pack as St. Thomas placed fourth of seven teams. Freshman Ellie Moore led the Tommies in 18:57.3 (54th), while juniors Emmy Schulz (59th, 19:02.4), Chiara White (63rd, 19:05.2), and Ann Boland (66th, 19:07.8) each set new personal bests.
At the Blugold Invitational, the women's team finished 19th of 36. Freshman Lauren Heneman continued her strong start with a 46th-place finish and in a personal record 23:38.0 (PR), while classmates Melana Webber (90th, 24:15.0) and Natalie Tekampe (19th, 24:32.8) also turned in personal bests.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following the Roy Griak Invitational:
"We had a very strong team performance today. I am happy for our guys. There are some critical elements for our success, and we made improvements in these areas. Our top group of Max Westerlund, Adam Lueth and Casey Popper did exactly what we needed. Isaac Novak was tough out there too.
"What I liked from our team today is that we improved our team position over the last mile of the races. We think we can still improve in this area even more.
"It was very hot out there with temperatures at 82 degrees and no breeze, cloud cover or shade. Our guys did a great job in tough conditions."
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the team's races at Notre Dame and UW-Eau Claire:
"Today was a mixed bag of results but overall a solid day. I thought our top three ran awesome. We need to tighten up our four through seven spots but that'll come. Everyone in the open ran well, too. A lot of personal bests on this course even with the toasty conditions. I saw a lot of fight from the team and that's something you always want. In Eau Claire, I thought Lauren Heneman had a super race and is really coming into her own. Then we had a nice pack together which is always good to see. We're continuing to get better every day."
UP NEXT
The Tommies return to action Friday, Oct. 17, at the Pink Classic hosted by Bradley University in Peoria, Ill.
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
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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