The Augustana women's and men's cross country teams both finished in third place at the Roy Griak Invitational Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn. Three Viking women and three Viking men finished in the top 20.
Augie women finished just two points behind the second place team, Manitoba, while conference foe Minnesota Duluth took their first-ever team title with 78 points. Sophomore Morgan Place of the Bulldogs took home the individual title.
Augie's top finisher was senior
Miriam Hovda who came in eight overall and finished in 23:02.14. Right behind her was senior
Molly Clark, whose 23:03.14 gave her a ninth place finish. Also finishing in the top 10 was freshman Kyle Blakesee who crossed the finish line in 23:17.54 and took 11th place.
The men placed third overall with 97 points to edge Minnesota State by just one point. The Vikings had no runners place among the top 13 finishers, but only 43 seconds separated their top five finishers. Southwest Baptist took home the men's title with 61 points and Concordia (Neb.) finished in second.
Junior
Matt Braithwaite was the top finisher for the men, finishing in 26:21.0 and taking 14th place. Sophomore
Tom Karbo finished just behind him in 15th place, running the course in 26:25.0 and sophomore
Travis Beniak came in at 17th in 26:35.0.
The women will compete next on Oct. 3 at the Willamette Invite in Salem, Oregon. The men will participate in the Pre-Regional meet in Wayne, Neb. on Oct. 10.
Viking Women Finishers
Miriam Hovda - 8th - 23:02.14
Molly Clark - 9th -23:03.14
Kyle Blakesee - 11th -23:17.54
Alyssa Anderson - 27th - 23:58.04
Caitlin Polgreen - 30th - 24:02.39
Leah Hansen - 33rd - 24:02.39
Courtney Rasmussen - 44th -24:22.99
Viking Men Finishers
Matt Braithwaite - 14th - 26:21.0
Tom Karbo - 15th - 26:25.0
Travis Beniak - 17th - 26:35.0
Daniel Black - 22nd - 26:49.0
Ryan Evans - 28th - 27:04.0
Per Sandtroen - 27:34.0
Matt Heesch - 27:36.0