GRAND FORKS, N.D.--South Dakota State University placed the top five finishers against North Dakota and four of the top five against North Florida in defeating both teams this morning at the UND Ron Pynn Classic at the Ray Richards Golf Course.
The 8K race was was run as a "double dual," with all three teams running at once but being scored against each other as separate dual races.
SDSU was led by individual medalist Anthony Bongard, who topped the field with a time of 25:46.28, 11 seconds better than runner-up and teammate Greg Vollmer.
The Jackrabbits got by the Fighting Sioux by a score of 15-46 while UNF defeated the Sioux 24-33.
Junior Josh LaBlanc (International Falls, Minn.) was UND's top runner this morning, posting a time of 26:28.72 to finish second against UNF and sixth against SDSU. It was LaBlanc's first cross country race since the 2007 season after missing 2008 to fulfill a fall internship opportunity.
LaBlanc's teammate, Kyle Rosseau (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) was the next-best finisher for UND, clocking in at 26:38.98 to finish fourth against UNF and seventh against SDSU.
Sioux sophomore Tyler Rose (Brainerd, Minn.) also checked in with a pair of top-10 finishes with his time of 26:52.64. Rose finished sixth against UNF and 10th against SDSU.
"I thought we had a good start with our top three runners," said UND head coach Mike Grandall. "Hopefully our fourth, fifth..those guys can move up and close that gap down and help us be a better team."
Five other runners also competed for the Sioux today: Jeremy Jones (Sr., Grand Forks), David Niday (Fr., Richfield, Minn.), Cory Absey (Jr., Grand Forks), Matthew Stout (Fr., Darby, Mont.) and Carl Sedgeman (So., Sauk Centre, Minn.).
Niday and Stout were each competing in their first collegiate meet for the Sioux.
UNF's Johnathan Esteban had the top time in the UNF-UND dual, running the course in 26:20.03.
Click on the PDF link provided at the top of the page to view complete results from today's meet.
The Sioux will return to action on Sept. 19 at the Nebraska Woody Greeno Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.
