APPLETON, WI – The Bay College Norse Cross Country Teams participated in the 8th Annual Gene Davis Invitational hosted by Lawrence University on Saturday. Despite conditions and many members of the team fighting illness, six of the nine Norse harriers set the personal best times for the season.
Cool temperatures, coupled with a wet and muddy course at Reid Municipal Golf Course added to the challenge for the participants. The Norse Men would have four runners participate in the 8K race. This week it would be Connor Robinson (FR, Powers, MI) leading the way for Bay, posting a time of 32:38. James Young (FR, Gladstone, MI) would finish just behind his teammate, crossing the line at the 32:50 mark. Steven Magnuson (SO, Cheboygan, MI) ended his day with a time of 34:19, while Devonte Grier (SO, Griffin, GA) would register a time of 37:39.
The Norse Women would finish five runners, posting a team score for just the second time this season. Zoie Berg (SO, Gladstone, MI) would finish the 6K course with a time of 25:37. Berg's effort was good enough to put her in 46th place out of 119 runners. Lauren Cousineau (FR, Escanaba, MI) would lead a cluster of Bay harriers that crossed the line within seconds of each other. Cousineau would end with an official time of 30:29, just ahead of Jody Peters (FR, Gladstone, MI) who finished at 30:48, and Lauren Peters (FR, Munising, MI) who crossed the finish line with a time of 30:55. Katy Combs (SO, Escanaba, MI) would round out the Bay scoring with a time of 36:36.
Carroll University would have three runners finish in the top ten to win the team competition. Bay would amass 321 points and finish 11th.
"The conditions were cool, wet, and muddy because of a lot of recent rain," said Jim Murtha, the coach of the Norse. "Despite over half of the team being sick, we still had six of the nine runners have their personal best time for the year. Everyone gave their all and as a result will only keep improving and look forward to next week's meet in Oshkosh."
The Norse will participate in the Pre-National KollegeTown Invite hosted by UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, October 13th. The event will kick off at 1 pm.