University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, October 2
Notre Dame, Ind.
9:00 a.m. CT
at
Joe Piane Invitational
VanAcker paces Tommies in top race at Joe Piane Invitational Friday
10/2/2026 1:45:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Sophomore Casey Poppler leads St. Thomas men in Blue Race 8K at Notre Dame
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of St. Thomas men's and women's cross country teams continued to build momentum Friday at the Joe Piane Invitational, highlighted by strong individual performances from freshman Anna VanAcker and sophomore Casey Poppler across the Tommies' women's and men's fields.
Freshman Anna VanAcker paced the Tommie Women's Cross Country team in the Women's Blue 5K, taking 78th in 17:33.97 with 70 points. Junior Olivia Pauly followed in 79th in 17:35.20 with 71 points, and junior Olivia Goebel placed 82nd in 17:36.34 with 74 points. Junior Emily Baker led the Tommie Women's Cross Country team in the Women's Open 5K, placing 18th in 18:15.67 with five points.
Sophomore Casey Poppler led the Tommies in the Men's Blue 8k, placing 64th in 24:38.0. Senior Adam Lueth followed in 69th with a time of 24:41.6. Freshman Elijah Horeled paced the Purple and Gray in the Men's Open 8k, finishing 20th in 25:34.39 while fellow freshman Liam Merrell added a 32nd-place finish in 26:00.17.
ST. THOMAS WOMEN'S SCORERS (BLUE RACE 5K)
78. Anna VanAcker (FR) - 17:33.97, 70 points
79. Olivia Pauly (JR) - 17:35.20, 71 points
82. Olivia Goebel (JR) - 17:36.34, 74 points
98. Lindsay Berg (SO) - 17:47.19, 89 points
106. Sophie Yetter (JR) - 17:52.03, 97 points
ST. THOMAS WOMEN'S SCORERS (OPEN RACE 5K)
18. Emily Baker (JR) - 18:15.67, 5 points
33. Ellie Moore (SO) - 18:47.41, 16 points
45. Amber Haukoos (JR) - 19:01.51, 22 points
49. Ann Boland (SR) - 19:08.26, 26 points
57. Elsie Kmecak (SR) - 19:24.94, 32 points
ST. THOMAS MEN'S SCORERS (BLUE RACE 8K)
64. Casey Poppler (SO) - 24:38.0
69. Adam Lueth (SR) - 24:41.6
91. Ben Stricker (JR) - 25:04.4
92. George Edgar (SR) - 25:05.2
93. Nate Meyer (SO) - 25:05.4
ST. THOMAS MEN'S SCORERS (OPEN RACE 8K)
37. Elijah Horeled (FR) - 25:34.39
55. Charie Power-Theisen (SR) - 25:58.09
57. Lliam Merrell (FR) - 26:00.17
58. Ben Clark (FR) - 26:00.24
63. Gabe Hallen (FR) - 26:06.76
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the Joe Piane Invitational:
"I think today was a good test for us and the women responded well. It's our first time being in the blue race and we lined up against four Top 15 teams in the nation. In years past, we would have let that scare us, but I feel like we went in with the mindset that we belong here. Our women got out better than previously and found each other. There's still room to improve, but today was a step in the right direction."
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following the Joe Piane Invitational:
"The race at Notre Dame is always highly competitive and this was our first year in the top division of the meet. The best and most consistent part of our season is our depth. Specifically, Nate Meyer and Ben Stricker who have been rock-solid performers every meet. We have a few guys building momentum including Casey Poppler, Adam Lueth and George Edgar. Today's meet showed me incremental improvement which is the direction we want our team to be heading. Also, Eli Horeled had a strong race as a freshman. That was fun to see and he has a bright future as he continues to gain race experience."
UP NEXT
University of St. Thomas travels to Decorah, Iowa, for the Legends Invite at noon Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, while the men take a week off from competition before returning Friday, Oct. 16 at the Bradley Pink Classic 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 --
Freshman Anna VanAcker paced the Tommie Women's Cross Country team in the Women's Blue 5K, taking 78th in 17:33.97 with 70 points. Junior Olivia Pauly followed in 79th in 17:35.20 with 71 points, and junior Olivia Goebel placed 82nd in 17:36.34 with 74 points. Junior Emily Baker led the Tommie Women's Cross Country team in the Women's Open 5K, placing 18th in 18:15.67 with five points.
Sophomore Casey Poppler led the Tommies in the Men's Blue 8k, placing 64th in 24:38.0. Senior Adam Lueth followed in 69th with a time of 24:41.6. Freshman Elijah Horeled paced the Purple and Gray in the Men's Open 8k, finishing 20th in 25:34.39 while fellow freshman Liam Merrell added a 32nd-place finish in 26:00.17.
ST. THOMAS WOMEN'S SCORERS (BLUE RACE 5K)
78. Anna VanAcker (FR) - 17:33.97, 70 points
79. Olivia Pauly (JR) - 17:35.20, 71 points
82. Olivia Goebel (JR) - 17:36.34, 74 points
98. Lindsay Berg (SO) - 17:47.19, 89 points
106. Sophie Yetter (JR) - 17:52.03, 97 points
ST. THOMAS WOMEN'S SCORERS (OPEN RACE 5K)
18. Emily Baker (JR) - 18:15.67, 5 points
33. Ellie Moore (SO) - 18:47.41, 16 points
45. Amber Haukoos (JR) - 19:01.51, 22 points
49. Ann Boland (SR) - 19:08.26, 26 points
57. Elsie Kmecak (SR) - 19:24.94, 32 points
ST. THOMAS MEN'S SCORERS (BLUE RACE 8K)
64. Casey Poppler (SO) - 24:38.0
69. Adam Lueth (SR) - 24:41.6
91. Ben Stricker (JR) - 25:04.4
92. George Edgar (SR) - 25:05.2
93. Nate Meyer (SO) - 25:05.4
ST. THOMAS MEN'S SCORERS (OPEN RACE 8K)
37. Elijah Horeled (FR) - 25:34.39
55. Charie Power-Theisen (SR) - 25:58.09
57. Lliam Merrell (FR) - 26:00.17
58. Ben Clark (FR) - 26:00.24
63. Gabe Hallen (FR) - 26:06.76
QUOTEABLES
Head Coach Ashley Lucas's thoughts following the Joe Piane Invitational:
"I think today was a good test for us and the women responded well. It's our first time being in the blue race and we lined up against four Top 15 teams in the nation. In years past, we would have let that scare us, but I feel like we went in with the mindset that we belong here. Our women got out better than previously and found each other. There's still room to improve, but today was a step in the right direction."
Head Coach Pete Wareham's thoughts following the Joe Piane Invitational:
"The race at Notre Dame is always highly competitive and this was our first year in the top division of the meet. The best and most consistent part of our season is our depth. Specifically, Nate Meyer and Ben Stricker who have been rock-solid performers every meet. We have a few guys building momentum including Casey Poppler, Adam Lueth and George Edgar. Today's meet showed me incremental improvement which is the direction we want our team to be heading. Also, Eli Horeled had a strong race as a freshman. That was fun to see and he has a bright future as he continues to gain race experience."
UP NEXT
University of St. Thomas travels to Decorah, Iowa, for the Legends Invite at noon Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, while the men take a week off from competition before returning Friday, Oct. 16 at the Bradley Pink Classic 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
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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