NORTHFIELD, Minn. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's cross country team competed at the St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday. The Blugolds took second out of nine teams, scoring 31 points. St. Olaf won the meet with a team score of 25.

Carolyn Shult (Sr. – Augusta, Wis.) was the top Blugold and won the meet in a time of 22:22.2. Following behind Shult was Ava Matejcek (So. – Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) placing fifth overall in a time of 23:07.3.

The Blugolds' top five was rounded out by Morgan Dahl (Sr. – Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) in sixth place with a time of 23:08.2, Keeley Behr (So. - Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) in eighth place with a time of 23:27.8, and Jenna Trzebiatowski (Sr. – Rosholt, Wis.) in 11^th place with a time of 23:42.1.

"The plan for the women's race was to race controlled the first 2K, find a teammate(s) to work with the middle 2K, and focus on a strong finish the final 2K," UW-Eau Claire head coach Dan Schwamberger said. "Many of our women were out a bit quicker than anticipated through the first third of the race, but they still managed to work together and maintain position over the final two-thirds. It was a successful opener against outside collegiate competition, and it was fun to watch Carolyn capture the individual title."

The Blugold women will be back in action Friday, Sept. 29, at the Blugold Invite in Colfax, Wisconsin. The open race starts at 3:45 p.m., with the varsity race to follow at 5:15 p.m.