COLFAX, Wis. - The UW-Eau Claire men's and women's cross country teams will host the Blugold open this Friday in Colfax at the Whitetail Golf Course.
The women's 6K race is set to start at 4 p.m. and will be followed by the men's 8K race at 5 p.m.
This year, a total of 21 institutions will be represented at the open, with 20 men's teams and 18 women's teams competing. From the 21 institutions, 335 men and 304 women will be racing. The institutions attending the event are Bethel University, Carleton College, Luther, Macalester, North Central University (Minn.), Northland College, Northwestern College, St. Johns, St. Norbert College, St. Olaf, University of St. Thomas, UM-Duluth, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-stout, UW-Superior, Wartburg (Iowa), and Winona State.
Last year at the event, the Blugold women finished in third place. They were led by Molly Warner (Sr.-Mosinee, WI) and her third place overall finish with a time of 22:59. The next highest returning finisher for the Blugolds is Ellie Lutz (Jr.-Eau Claire, WI/Memorial), who finished last year's race with a time of 24:24 and a 38th place overall finish. The first place finisher was Kristen Painter of UW-La Crosse with a time of 22:25. Painter has won the event the past two years.
On the men's side, the Blugolds had four racers finish in the top 31. This strong team effort helped carry the Blugolds to a fourth place finish. The Blugolds were led by Kevin Hall (Jr.-Green Bay, WI/Preble) with a time of 26:14 which was good enough for an 11th place finish. He is the only returner for the Blugolds who finished in the top 31. Last year's winner was Eric Atkinson from UM-Duluth. He won with a time of 25:31 and will look to defend his title this season. His strong finish helped lead UM-Duluth to a third place finish, which was only six points behind the winner, St. John's.
For complete results following the event, log on to www.pttiming.com or the UW-Eau Claire Athletics website at http://www.uwec.edu/athletics.
- TT -
