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St. Olaf Men's Cross Country Wins Midwest Long & Short Course Challenge

Joel Tortomasi
October 8, 2002

The Ole Harriers entered Fridays meet with one specific goal. Divide, conquer and repeat as overall champions of the meet. They did exactly that by racing tough in both the 5K and 8K races of this unique meet, amidst rather cold and rainy conditions.

The Oles began the day with 5K race in which they placed a respectable 4th, tallying 58 points. Peder Arneson (Jr, Montevideo, MN) led Oles in 5th place with a time of 16.10. Robert Hillard (Sr. Colombia, MO - Hickman), Chris Coffey (Sr. Dubuque, IA. Senior) and Sam Hauck (FY. Shoreview, MN. Concordia Academy) rounded out the top four scoring places finishing 13th, 17th and 23rd respectively.

If the Oles impressed in the 5K they steamrolled in the 8K working in tandems, as Kelly Fulton (So, Billings, MT) and Mark Sullivan (Sr. West Bend, WI - West) placed 3rd and 4th in 26.28 and 26.29. Rounding out the top four were Malcolm Richards (So. Minneapolis, MN. South) and Joel Tortomasi (Sr. Hartford, WI. Whitewater) placing 11th and 13th to bring home an Ole victory in the 8K with 31 points bettering a strong field of the University of St. Thomas (63), Minnesota State- Mankato (65), UW-Eau Claire (77) and ten other teams.

The overall title was decided by a very slim margin among the top three teams with the Oles scoring 56 points, St. Thomas 59, Minn. State-Mankato 60.

The Ole men will tackle yet another week of intense training as they prepare for and host the NCAA Pre-National meet which looks to be highlighted by numerous high caliber teams, including four top ten ranked teams and a number of perennial powers from all over the country. The men's race will begin in the Skoglund fields at 12:00

Contact LeAnn Finger at 507-786-3315 or finger@stolaf.edu.