Pioneers shine at UW-La Crosse

Led by first- and second-place finishes by Patrick Klein and Jason Garvens, the UW-Platteville men's cross country team was the top NCAA Division III school at UW-La Crosse's high-powered Jim Drews Invitational Saturday.

Only the University of Minnesota finished ahead of Coach Tom Antczak's Pioneers in the 28-team field. The Gophers B squad scored 33, followed by UW-Platteville with 88, UW-La Crosse 104, North Dakota State 115, and Hamline 151 in the top five.

Garvens and Klein covered the 8,000-meter Maple Grove Country Club course in West Salem in 24:38 and 24:39 to pace the race. Both had mile paces of 4:57, two of just four runners in the 488-person competition to sustain sub-5:00 rates. Minnesota's Paul Hilsen finished third in 24:45.

Anthony Swimm finished in 17th in 25:13, while Bill Clift was 33rd in 25:34, and Nathan Petesch 43rd in 25:42 to round out the scoring.

The Pioneer women were 10th out of 28 schools in the race won by North Dakota State.

Ann Tank was the Pioneers' top finisher, grabbing 16th place with a time of 22:12 over 6K, while her sister Alli Tank was 45th in 22:45.