WINNECONNE, Wis.: After a week off the Yellowjacket men’s cross country returned to action Saturday, Oct. 19 hitting the road to compete in the Kollege Town Invitational, hosted by UW-Oshkosh at the Lake Breeze Golf Course. The event, which fields some of the best cross country teams in the Upper Midwest, has become a regular event on the schedule for the Yellowjackets, and provides a strong test leading into the team’s most important meets of the season.
In the men’s field, North Central College out of Illinois placed first, easily outdistancing the field with just 46 points. Pomona-Pitzer was the meet runner-up with 79 points, followed by Wartburg, which placed third with 102 points.
The individual champion Saturday was Nick Matteucci of Washington University out of St. Louis, Missouri. Matteucci broke the tape with a time of 24:43.1.
Leading the way for the Yellowjackets was Eddie Carlson (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul Secondary). The junior completed the eight-kilometer course with a time of 26:55.6.
In the women’s race, Washington University of St. Louis, Missouri dominated, winning the event with just 27 points. Washington placed five runners in the top nine, including Paige Lawler who won the event with a time of 21:39.3. The University of Chicago was the runner-up, finishing well back of Washington with 90 points. UW-Eau Claire rounded out the top three, coming in with 100 points.
Pacing the Yellowjackets was Haruka Hamanaka (Izumisano, Japan/Kishiwada). The senior was the first Yellowjacket to finish the six-kilometer race, coming across the line with a time of 25:19.0.
The meet closed out the regular season for the Yellowjackets, who will be in action next Saturday, Nov. 2 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Championships at Nemadji Golf Course in Superior. The men’s run for the conference championship will begin at 12:00 p.m. while the women’s run begins at 1:00 p.m.
