No. 22-ranked Blue Hawk men's XC team wins Mount Marty Invite

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YANKTON, S.D. — The No. 22-ranked Dickinson State men’s cross country team had its best performance of the season Saturday morning, winning the Mount Marty Invitational.

Abdi Ismael and Dante Carter finished second and third, respectively, as the Blue Hawks picked up their second win of the season and came out on top of 15 teams, including two that were ranked ahead of them in the latest NAIA poll.

“It ended up being a fairly good win for us,” DSU head coach Mike Nekuda said.

Ismael finished in 25 minutes, 46.89 seconds and Carter in 25:51.73, more than 20 seconds behind winner Matt Fideler, an unattached runner and former NAIA All-American from Dakota State who finished the 8K race in 25:25.70.

DSU’s Denis Patrick was sixth (26:00.15), Eddie Meneses was 14th (26:21.44) and Dustin Sandbak was 21st (26:35.33).

The Blue Hawks had 37 team points, well ahead of nationally ranked teams Concordia University (Neb.) and Morningside College (Iowa), which had 60 and 64, respectively.

DSU didn’t field a full team on the women’s side. However, junior Brittney Young took sixth with a time of 18:59.36.

“It was a good day,” Nekuda said.

Mount Marty Invitational

At Yankton, S.D.

Men’s team scores: Dickinson State 37, Concordia (Neb.) 60, Morningside (Iowa) 64, Dordt (Iowa) 119, South Dakota Mines 130, Northwestern (Iowa) 151, Colorado College 168, Mount Mart 242, Hastings (Neb.) 254, Valley City State 303, Midland (Neb.) 335, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 339, Jamestown College 370, Dakota Wesleyan 384.

Men’s top 5: 1, Matt Fideler, unattached, 25:25.70. 2, Abdi Ismail, DSU, 25:46.89. 3, Dante Carter, DSU, 25:51.73. 4, Hayden Hornholt, Concordia, 25:52.03. 5, Ryan Tholen, Dordt, 25:53.19.

Other DSU men’s finishers: 6, Denis Patrick 26:00.15. 14, Eddie Meneses 26:21.44. 21, Dustin Sandbak 26:35.33. 58, Edgar Duarte Mendez 27:32.80. 70, Nick Priego 27:42.87. 83, Delano Lilly 28:03.77. 94, Ariel Hurtado 28:20.77. 118, Clayton Steinmetz 29:07.45.

Women’s team scores: Dordt (Iowa) 49, Colorado College 61, Concordia (Neb.) 64, Morningside (Iowa) 121, Northwestern (Iowa) 153, Hastings (Neb.) 177, Jamestown College 192, Mount Marty 195, Midland (Neb.) 223, South Dakota Mines 225, Dakota Wesleyan 311, Dakota State 336.

Women’s top 5: 1, Sarah Kortze, Concordia, 17:53.48. 2, Jenna Schwalenberg, Concordia, 18:18.36. 3, Aleona Reyes, Jamestown, 18:19.15. 4, Lauren Opp, Dordt, 18:31.61. 5, Erin Morrow, CC, 18:55.68.

DSU women’s finishers: 6, Brittany Young 18:59.36. 31, Stormie Sickler 19:57.71. 75, Breezy Boldon 20:59.41.

Tags: cross country, dsu blue hawks, blue hawks, sports, running, updates