The Red Raider cross country team made a good showing at the Graphic Edge Invite hosted by Mount Marty College this past Saturday in Yankton, S.D.
The men’s team finished in sixth place out of the 14 total teams competing at the meet. For the fifth straight meet, the Raider men were led by sophomore Skyler Giddings who finished 18th overall with a final time of 26 miutes, 31 seconds in the 8K.
Shortly to follow, sophomore Logan Hovland finished in the 22nd spot with a time of 26:31. Not far behind was sophomore Anthony Epp, who finished 37th in a time of 27:07. Freshman Caleb VanderBaan took the 49th spot (27:20), and freshman Elliot Stoltz claimed the 52nd spot (27:23).
“We did very well as a team,” said head coach Scott Bahrke. “The guys stayed well together in the front as a pack like we have been working on.”
The women’s side scored a total of 153 points on the day and finished fifth out of 12 teams competing. The Raiders were led by senior Amy Van Skike, who took the 13th spot overall with a final time of 19:14 in the 5K.
Sophomore Amber Sandbulte finished the meet in 25th place in a time of 19:41. Next to finish for NW was freshman Kelley Thurman in 41st, with a time of 20:10. Junior Dawn Gildersleeve and freshman Karissa DeJong finished close behind, placing 42nd and 43rd. They ran times of 20:11 and 20:12, respectively. Sophomore Sarah Wittenberg ran a personal season best time of 20:18 and finished 47th.
The Raiders next meet will be the GPAC championships at McCook Lake, S.D. in two weeks.
