SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Concordia-St. Paul men's and women's cross country teams got their season underway Friday night under the lights at the Augie Twilight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The women's squad placed 22nd out of 26 teams and the men's team finished 14th out of 25 teams.
Nyadio Chan led the way on the women's side finishing with a personal best 5K time of 19:48.66, placing 81st out of 319 runners. Freshman Kayla Anderson came in just behind Chan recording a time of 19:49.74 in her collegiate cross country debut, finishing 84th.
Freshman Lauryn Rosenthal recorded a time of 20:06.79 to finish 101st, sophomore Elise Atkins finished with a time of 23:50.41 and freshman Kathryn Stroede rounded things out for Concordia with a time of 29:07.90.
On the men's side Andrew Alexander led the way, running a personal best four-mile time of 20:17.36 to finish 46th out of 394 runners. Andrew Boyum also ran a personal best four mile with a time of 20:34.99 for a 67th-place finish.
Ethan Blischke bested his 2024 Augie Twilight finish of 21:13.2 with a personal best four-mile time of 20:42.56, good for a 77th-place finish. Freshman Brock Johnson came in with a time of 20:50.61 to begin his collegiate career. Travis Tock rounded out the CSP top-five with a 20:54.52 finish.
Zay Acosta finished in 166th-place with a time of 21:07.87, Matthew Urgiles-Suarez and Jordan Stumm rounded things out for the Golden Bears, finishing with times of 22:09.03 and 22:09.0 respectively.
The women's team finished with 599 placement points for a 22nd-place finish and an average time of 22:32. The Golden Bears finished two points behind Martin Luther College and ahead of Southeastern Iowa Community College.
The men's team finished 14th with 374 placement points and an average time of 20:40.03. CSP finished ahead of Southeastern Iowa Community College and Bellevue University.
South Dakota State claimed the top spot on the podium in the men's four mile ahead of top NSIC finishers Augustana and Minnesota State, who finished second and third respectively. CSP finished ahead of NSIC competitors Northern State who placed 19th and Southwest Minnesota who placed 20th.
South Dakota State claimed the top spot in the women's 5k as well, with Minnesota State and Augustana claiming the second and third place spots.
SDSU's Cody Larson came out on top in the men's four mile with a time of 18:00.10. Ashlyn Hillyard was the top finisher in the women's 5K for the Jackrabbits. Ashley Overgaauw and Mileena Sullivan both finished inside the top 10 for Minnesota State, to lead the NSIC individually.
The Golden Bears head home to prepare for the Roy Griak Invitational in two weeks. The meet is hosted by the University of Minnesota and takes place at Les Bolstad Golf Course on Friday, Sept. 19.
Men's Individual Placers (394 runners)
75 - Andrew Alexander - 20:17.4 - Andrew runs a new personal best time, improving by 9.3 seconds from his 2024 Augie Twilight race. Andrew runs the 7th fastest time by a CSP runner at the Yankton Trail Course. Andrew runs the 4th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP senior runner.
107 - Andrew Boyum - 20:35.0 - Andrew runs a new personal best time improving by 27.5 seconds from his 2024 Augie Twilight race. Andrew runs the 5th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP senior runner.
120 - Ethan Blischke - 20:42.7 - Ethan runs a new personal best time improving by 30.5 seconds from his 2024 Augie Twilight race. That was the 3rd time in a row that Ethan has improved his Augie Twilight time from the previous year. Ethan runs the 6th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP senior runner.
133 - Brock Johnson - 20:56.6 - Brock sets a new personal best time in his first college cross country race. Brock runs the 2nd fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP freshman runner. Brock was just 0.7 seconds behind Matthew Helser who ran 20:49.9 as a freshman runner in 2021. Yet, Matthew was in his second year of college as his freshman year was wiped out in 2020 by COVID.
143 - Travis Tock - 20:54.5 - Travis runs a new personal best time improving by 26 seconds from his 2024 Augie Twilight race. Travis runs the 4th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP sophomore runner.
Zay Acosta - 21:07.9 - Zay sets a new personal best time. Zay runs the 6th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP sophomore runner.
Matthew Urgiles-Suarez - 22:04.0 - Matthew sets a new personal best time in his first college cross country race. Matthew runs the 10th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP freshman runner.
Jordan Stumm - 22.09.0 - Jordan sets a new personal best time in his first college cross country race. Jordan runs the 11th fastest cross country 4 Mile race by a CSP freshman runner.
Men's Team Notes
Team Score: 374.0 – The men's team scores the 5th lowest team score in school history at the Augie Twilight.
Average Time: 20:40.0 – The men's team runs the 3rd fastest average top five times at the Augie Twilight.
1-5 Spread: 0:37.1 – The spread between the 1st runner and 5th runner was the lowest in school history at the Augie Twilight.
Women's Individual Placers (319 runners)
113 - Nyadio Chan - 19:48.7 - Nyadio runs a new personal best time improving by 49.5 seconds from her 2024 Augie Twilight race. She improved by 3 minutes and 59.1 seconds from her 2023 Augie Twilight race. Nyadio runs the 3rd fastest time by a CSP runner at the Yankton Trail Course. Nyadio runs the 5th fastest cross country 5K by a CSP senior runner.
116 - Kayla Anderson - 19:49.7 - Kayla sets a new personal best time in her first college cross country race. Kayla runs the 4th fastest time by a CSP runner at the Yankton Trail Course. Kayla runs the 7th fastest cross country 5K by a CSP freshman runner.
138 - Lauryn Rosenthal - 20:06.8 - Lauryn sets a new personal best time in her first college cross country race. Lauryn runs the 7th fastest time by a CSP runner at the Yankton Trail Course.
293 - Elise Atkins - 23:50.4 - Elise sets a new season best time.
318 - Kathryn Stroede - 29:07.9 - Kathryn sets a new personal best time in her first college cross country race.
Women's Team Notes
Team Score: 599.0 – The CSP women record the 4th lowest team score in school history at the Augie Twilight.
Team Place -22nd – The CSP women record the 4th highest team place finish in school history at Augie Twilight.
