COLFAX, Wis. - Bethany cross country competed at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational on Friday morning. The Viking men took 33rd place with 1023 points, while the women finished 36th with 1064 points. 

"It was good to be able to compete on our regional course," said Head Coach Dominic Santina. "It gives the athletes a good perspective of what it will be like later in the season."

The women were led by Campbell Amundson, who finished 143rd with a time of 24.:46.5. Lauren Bauer, Juliana Ewald, and Taryn Zellman finished 324th through 326th, respectively, with times of 31:11.0, 31:18.7, and 31:21.2. Gracelyn Malecek took 336th in 34:58.5.

"On the women's side, Campbell had a big race today, cutting over a minute off her time and finishing with the seventh fastest time in school history," said Santina. "Juliana cut 45 seconds in improvement today and Gracelyn saw over a minute as well. We are starting to see improvement to where we want to be this season." 

The men were led by Andreas Guessregen, who took 224th in 29:00.4. James Younge took 262nd in 30:20.6, Tanner Rosenthal finished 294th in 32:23.7, August Weinstein placed 299th in 32:56.6, and Ben Matzke took 320th in 40:34.0. 

"The big race helped us see quite a few big improvements," said Santina. "James ran to a season best time. August cut over three minutes off of his time and Ben was big helping us earn the team score."

The Vikings now prepare for the St. Olaf Haunted Hustle on the Hill on Oct. 18.