GREEN BAY, WI – The Bay Norse Cross Country Teams got their first taste of action in the Tom Barry Invitational hosted by St. Norbert College on Saturday Morning.
The Men's Team ran five and received a team score for the event. Running against four-year programs, the young harriers from Bay found themselves at the bottom of the pack amongst eleven teams. The experience was invaluable as most of the runners got their first taste of college competition.
Brent Lagina (FR, Norway, MI) set the pace for the Norse, finishing the 6K course with a time of 27:57.28. Matt Nelson (FR, Gladstone, MI) came in just under the 30 mark with a time of 26:11.70. He was followed by Austin Watchorn (SO, Escanaba, MI) who had a time of 32:11.01, while Matt LeClaire (FR, Gladstone, MI) clocked in at 36:30.76. Rounding out the scoring for the Norse was Dustin Brewster (FR, Manistique, MI) who had a time of 38:22.74.
"The course was chunky with a lot of rolling hills," said Scott Carhoun, the Norse Cross Country Coach. "Brent Lagina paced himself really well early on, but developed a side stitch in the middle of the race, which slowed him down. Dustin Brewster ran really well, especially since it was his first ever cross country meet. He did miss a turn on the course and finished ten to eleven minutes slower than projected as a result."
The Women's team ran shorthanded in this event and did not pick up a team score. They did get a nice outing from their group as Hattie Cota (FR, Munising, MI) led the Norse with a time of 23:51.54. Veronica Spreitzer (FR, Escanaba, MI) finished the 5K with a time of 25:31.43. Aleyna Wetthuhn (FR, Gladstone, MI) came in at 26:08.18 in her first ever action, while Devyn Lusardi (FR, Stephenson, MI) posted a time of 27:53.20.
"Hattie Cota and Devyn Lusardi did pretty well considering they went out super fast in the the first mile," continued Carhoun. "Veronica Spreitzer paced herself real well and finished right were she was projected to be this early in the season."
The Norse will compete next on September 15. They will travel to Grand Rapids for a conference meet that morning.