University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, September 6
Green Bay, Wis.
11:30 a.m. CT
vs
Phoenix Open
Women’s Cross Country snags team win to open season at Phoenix Open
9/6/2025 4:15:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Brock Bjerke leads the Tommie men with personal record in 8K race
GREEN BAY, Wis. – St. Thomas cross country season is upon us as men's and women's cross country programs opened their seasons Saturday at the Phoenix Open in Green Bay, Wis. The Tommie women won the meet title behind four top 10 finishes while sophomore Brock Bjerke set a personal record to lead a limited Tommie men's team.
WOMEN'S RECAP:
Sophomore Olivia Pauly paced the Tommie women with a third-place finish in the 6,000-meter race, running a personal record 22:06.0. She bested her previous time of 22:15.6 set at the Summit League Cross Country Championships last season.
Freshman Layla Vennink, sophomore Sophie Yetter and freshman Lindsay Berg finished in 8th, 9th, and 10th, respectively, all within two seconds of each other. Vennink began her collegiate career with a finish of 22:37.6 followed by Yetter in 22:38.2 and Berg in 22:39.4. Junior Elsie Kmecak rounded out the Tommie's scoring five with a 17th-place finish in 22:58.4
MEN'S RECAP:
Bjerke placed sixth among 126 runners with a personal best time of 25:36.9 in the 8K race. Sophomore Joe McNeil followed in 13th with a time of 25:51.5 and sophomore Ben Stricker placed 22nd in 26:04.0.
Junior Isaac Nowak took 27th in 26:10.3 followed by junior Charlie Power-Theisen in 34th in 26:27.9. The Tommies' top five led the team to a fifth-place finish among nine teams at the Phoenix Open.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the team's win at the Phoenix Open
"Today was a great opener for us. We wanted to use it to knock the rust off so we went out relatively comfortable. Then it picked up during the back half and I felt like we closed really well. A majority of the returners who opened up on this course last year opened significantly faster this year which bodes well for what's to come and I thought our freshmen came in and exceeded my expectations for their opener. Now we continue to get back to work and embracing the process."
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following the season opening Phoenix Open
"It was really fun to race today, and we had a nice start to the season. It was nice to see the improvement when compared to one year ago. We didn't race all of our guys today, so from those that did race, we needed to see who would emerge into a role that can be impactful for the team. Brock Bjerke led the way and is on that path. The guys have worked hard these past couple of weeks and making the investment we need. It will continue to help us over the season."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas returns to the Twin Cities for its next action Friday, Sept. 19 at the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota.
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:
Sophomore Olivia Pauly paced the Tommie women with a third-place finish in the 6,000-meter race, running a personal record 22:06.0. She bested her previous time of 22:15.6 set at the Summit League Cross Country Championships last season.
Freshman Layla Vennink, sophomore Sophie Yetter and freshman Lindsay Berg finished in 8th, 9th, and 10th, respectively, all within two seconds of each other. Vennink began her collegiate career with a finish of 22:37.6 followed by Yetter in 22:38.2 and Berg in 22:39.4. Junior Elsie Kmecak rounded out the Tommie's scoring five with a 17th-place finish in 22:58.4
MEN'S RECAP:
Bjerke placed sixth among 126 runners with a personal best time of 25:36.9 in the 8K race. Sophomore Joe McNeil followed in 13th with a time of 25:51.5 and sophomore Ben Stricker placed 22nd in 26:04.0.
Junior Isaac Nowak took 27th in 26:10.3 followed by junior Charlie Power-Theisen in 34th in 26:27.9. The Tommies' top five led the team to a fifth-place finish among nine teams at the Phoenix Open.
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the team's win at the Phoenix Open
"Today was a great opener for us. We wanted to use it to knock the rust off so we went out relatively comfortable. Then it picked up during the back half and I felt like we closed really well. A majority of the returners who opened up on this course last year opened significantly faster this year which bodes well for what's to come and I thought our freshmen came in and exceeded my expectations for their opener. Now we continue to get back to work and embracing the process."
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following the season opening Phoenix Open
"It was really fun to race today, and we had a nice start to the season. It was nice to see the improvement when compared to one year ago. We didn't race all of our guys today, so from those that did race, we needed to see who would emerge into a role that can be impactful for the team. Brock Bjerke led the way and is on that path. The guys have worked hard these past couple of weeks and making the investment we need. It will continue to help us over the season."
UP NEXT
St. Thomas returns to the Twin Cities for its next action Friday, Sept. 19 at the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota.
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
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