Smith Leads, But Trio Of Freshmen Provide Optimistic Outlook
Senior Leo Smith led the Cobbers for the fifth straight time this season, but it was a trio of freshmen that showed a bright future for Concordia at the Jim Crews Invitational hosted by Wis.-La Crosse.
LA CROSSE, WIS. (10/15/22)---Senior Leo Smith led the Cobbers for the fifth straight time this season, but it was a trio of freshmen that showed a bright future for Concordia at the Jim Crews Invitational hosted by Wis.-La Crosse.
Smith clocked a 25:52.4 over the 8K course and placed 34th in a field of 424 runners. Smith's time was only 2-seconds off his personal best time, and almost 2-minutes faster than his time at the same meet last season.
Last year, Smith crossed the line in 27:39.71 and was the team's No.7 finisher at the meet. On Saturday he raced to a 25:52.4 and was the team's No.1 runner.
Smith's sub-26:00 mark helped the Cobbers finish in 16th place in the final team standings.
The Cobbers had to compete in Wisconsin without the help of two of their Top 7 runners on the year. Senior Solomon Johnson wasn't available for the meet, and fellow senior Tanner Olson had to drop out of the race in the first 3K. Both runners would have factored into the team's scoring crew.
Sophomore Joe Lee made a successful comeback to the cross country scene on Saturday. Competing in his first meet of the year, Lee was the team's No.2 finisher with a time of 26:30.5. That mark is only 12-seconds off of a PR mark as he looks to help the team down the stretch of the season.
Lee's time represents a 20-second drop from last year's finishing time at the Jim Drews Invite.
Freshman Jonathan Krueger led the trio of freshmen at the meet. He continues to be among the team's Top 3 race in, and race out. Krueger crossed the line in a time of 26:58.7 which is his season-best mark on an 8K course.
Krueger continues to drop time as the season wears on. He ran a 27:50.8 at the Roy Griak Invite on Sept. 23, and then posted a time of 27:15.1 at the Jimmie Invite on Oct. 7.
Besides Krueger, fellow first-year runners Mustafe Abdi and Carter Ferber also factored into the team's scoring squad at La Crosse. Abdi came home with a time of 27:49.3 to earn the No.4 finisher honor for the Cobbers. Ferber was less than 30-seconds behind Abdi as he recorded a finishing time of 28:12.8.
Like Krueger, Abdi and Ferber both posted season-best times on Saturday. And also like Krueger, the pair have steadily improved their marks over the longer 8K course.
UP NEXT: Concordia will have a 2-week training period to get ready for the MIAC Championship Meet. The Cobbers will compete at the conference meet on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Highland National GC in St. Paul.