The Blugold Invite for cross country took place last Friday in Colfax at the Whitetail Golf Course. Overall, the Blugolds women’s team took first and the men’s team took third.

There was a total of 25 teams competing in the women’s race, which was a distance of six kilometers. The Blugold team took first in the race.

On Saturday, the women runners were able to lower their team score to 80 to take first place. Carleton College followed closely with 82 points. The Blugolds experienced a 55-point improvement — they previously tallied 135 points at the Augsburg Invite on Sept. 15.

Individually, Sam Slattery, a third- year, took first in her race with a time of 22:06.8.

Slattery said Head Coach Dan Schwamberger told the team to start the race fast. Being able to get comfortable after the first 200 meters of the race is critical for the team’s success, she said.

“I think the biggest challenge faced was knowing when to push the pace and when to let others do the work,” Slattery said.

The men’s team took third place with a score of 111. There were a total of 29 teams competing during the race. Patrick Treacy, a fourth-year, won the race overall. Treacy’s time for the eight-kilometer course was 24:39.9.

“The next race is pre-nationals, so there will be very good competition,” Treacy said. “I want to prove to myself that I can compete with some of the best runners in Division III.”

Next up for the Blugolds is the UW-Oshkosh Invite on Oct. 13.

Erskine can be reached at [email protected].