Cross country brings home pair of runner-ups at Oz

Zach Anderson

Zach Anderson

Both the Jackrabbit men’s and women’s cross country teams earned second place honors at the Oz Memorial meet in Falcon Heights, Minn.

Michael Krsnak led the men with a fourth-place finish in the race of 19 minutes, 24.21 seconds. Greg Vollmer was the next Jacks runner to cross the finish line, in ninth place with a time of 19:34.18.

“Krsnak bounced back from a subpar performance the first week,” Coach Rod DeHaven said. “Vollmer also performed well. It was a good performance, but I would like to be a little closer to Minnesota.”

The Gophers took first on the men’s side with 22 points. SDSU had 52 points good for second, and North Dakota State had 71 points, putting them in third. Drake earned 87 points for fourth.

Ashley Storm, who placed 19th with a time of 23:46.81, led the SDSU women. Storm was followed by teammate Danielle Burke, who earned 22nd place in 24:03.99.

“We ran tired,” DeHaven said. “They put in a hard week of work, and it showed more than I hoped it would. I am not disappointed with the results, but we will have to work harder in practice.”

Although the Jacks looked tired, DeHaven is sure they will shake it off.

“We just need to keep moving forward in practice before we can step back on the line in Minnesota.”

The host Gophers also won the women’s side with 17 team points. The Jacks came in second with 72, NDSU with 86 points and Minnesota State, Mankato with 99 points.

Up next for the Jacks will be a return trip to Falcon Heights where they will compete in the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 26.