<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4H4586_0vjng8fR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4H4586_0vjng8fR00" width="1763" height="1175" ><figcaption>Northwest Cross Country junior Lou Maquaire, senior Alyna Thibault, senior Taylor McCreedy, and junior Lydia McGlocklin run laps around the track at practice Sept 17. The women placed third at the Platte River Rumble “Gold” meet Sept. 6. LANEY PACE | Missourian Photographer</figcaption></figure>Northwest men’s cross country finished at the top of the leaderboard for the first time this season, beating out 14 other teams in the Roy Griak Invitational Sept. 20 at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.The men’s team claimed the Maroon 8K title with three runners finishing in the top four — senior Grant Bradley, and juniors Nate Mueller and Drew Atkins. The three athletes paved the way for a first-place win for the Bearcats with a two-three-four finish in the race. Bradley said the execution from himself and his team was what he was most proud of in the victory.“I think we were looking to come in and just win,” Bradley said. “Whoever was the first of our guys across the line and whoever followed behind, the goal was to win. We almost exceeded that by winning by over 50 points, so we’re all really pleased with it.”Northwest won the race with 36 points, the next closest team was Michigan Tech with 91. Junior Tyler Blay just missed the top ten, finishing in 11th. With senior Brandon Mundorf finishing in 16th and sophomore Grayson Tapp finishing in 19th, the Bearcats concluded the race with six runners inside the top 20. Coach Wick Cunningham said he was most proud of the way his team competed and executed in Minnesota. “All we’re focused on is the team results and not necessarily the individual aspect,” Cunningham said. “I thought the execution on both the men’s and women’s side was fantastic, and we went out there and put ourselves in the position we needed to and executed the race.”The women’s cross country team finished in fourth place for the Maroon 6K, with four runners finishing inside the top 30 — junior Lydia McGlocklin, senior Alyna Thibault, sophomore Mayson Hartley and freshman Reagan McGuire. McGlocklin and Thibault paved the way for Northwest finishing in 13th and 16th. Hartley and McGuire concluded the race back-to-back in 27th and 28th. The men’s team competed in consecutive invites as they headed to the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational Sept. 21 in Lincoln, Nebraska, hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Wesleyan University at Mahoney Golf Course. Northwest finished in 18th place out of 26 teams, with freshman Owen Wise leading the way in 99th. The competition in Nebraska consisted of 11 teams, each nationally ranked in their respective divisions.The Bearcats next competition will be the Griffon Invite Oct. 5 in St. Joseph at the Missouri Western Cross Country Course. Cunningham said he is excited to see what the men’s and women’s teams have in store as the season continues.“Huge meet, the team was going there trying to do some big stuff and it’s nice when it all comes together,” Cunningham said. “It’s just something we can build off the rest of the year. We got to keep looking forward because when we get to November and the big meets, no one is gonna ask us what we did in September. We can’t hang our hats on this performance and get content.”</div></body>

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Cross country finishes on top of the leaderboard, prepare for Griffon Invite

Northwest men’s cross country finished at the top of the leaderboard for the first time this season, beating out 14 other teams in the Roy Griak Invitational Sept. 20 at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The men’s team claimed the Maroon 8K title with three runners...