Pioneers Open Season Saturday at St. Olaf Invite

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville cross country teams competed at the season-opening St. Olaf Invitational on Saturday morning, with the women placing ninth and the men coming in at 11^th.

The meet gave the Pioneers a preview of the regional course, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 12 and will feature many of the same teams from today's meet.

UW-Platteville's women's team placed ninth out of 20 teams competing, totaling 248 points. The men finished in 11^th out of 23 teams, finishing with 327 points.

Senior Kaitlyn Galgon was the top finisher for the women, placing 46^th out of 260 runners. She posted a time of 24:45.3 in the 6K. Freshman Caitlin Gorge put together a strong showing in her first race, finishing as the second women's runner at 25:01.8 for 51^st. Sophomore Natalie Kreier was close behind, placing 56^th with a time of 25:05.5. Sophomore Hannah Fliss (25:22.1) and freshman Avery Brown (26:30.3) rounded out the scorers for the Pioneers finishing 70^th and 126^th overall, respectively.

Senior Troy Humpal led the way for the men, finishing 31^st with a mark of 26:56.6 in the 8K run. Sophomore Joey Madsen (28:04.4) and freshman Isaiah Kruckman (28:14.9) were the next two to cross the line, placing 107^th and 120^th. Sophomore Riley Coulter (28:15.4) finished one place behind Kruckman for 121^st, while freshman Thaddeus Shetler trailed closely behind at 28:22.9 for 125^th.

The Pioneers will host the Pioneer Gender Equity Invite next Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Cole Acres Golf Course in Cuba City, Wis. The men are scheduled to run at 10:30 a.m. with the women following at 10:32:40 a.m.