STURGIS, S.D.- Rocky Cross Country turned in a strong debut to the season, with six total top-10 finishes against a field of NCAA DII competition in Sturgis on Friday. 

The Rocky women kicked off the evening, competing in a 4k event. Jayden Woodland led the charge, finishing eighth with a time of 15:23. Hannah Geisen followed in 12th place with a final time of 15:39.3. Maya Pearcy and Kallyn Wilkins finished side-by-side in 20th and 21st place, respectively. Rylie Schoenfeld placed 35th, and Cora Moriarty finished 53rd to round out the Battlin' Bear competitors. 

The Rocky women finished third overall with 92 total points, edging Rimrock Rival MSU Billings by four points. Carleton took the overall victory, totaling 28 points with four finishers in the top six overall. 

The Rocky men followed in a 6k event. The No.17-ranked Rocky men finished strong in a competitive field, totaling all five of their scorers inside of the top-10 overall. Sophomore John Spinti led the charge with a third place finish, turning in an overall time of 18:54.2. Caleb Tomac followed in fifth place, crossing the line in 19:04.8. Justin Glass and Joseph Orndorff finished back-to-back, with Glass taking seventh with a time of 19:11.2 and Orndorff following in eighth with a time of 19:13.8. Ashtyn Rask rounded out the Rocky scorers with a tenth place finish, totaling a time of 19:17.4. Wrapping up the Battlin' Bears competitors included Zachary Zwiesler (17th; 19:30.3), Corbyn Svec (18th; 19:30.6), Matthew Conrad (23rd; 19:38.0), Connor Chase (59th; 21:10.3), Garrett Sedlock (67th; 21:38.1), Henry Cooke (69th; 21:41.1), Eniah Boseman (77th; 22:06.6). 

The Battlin' Bear men finished second overall, just two points behind the winners and hosts, Black Hills State, totaling 33 points overall. 

Up Next

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Rocky XC will get a look at their new Frontier Conference competition in their next meet, traveling to Medora, North Dakota, for the Blue Hawk Invitational, hosted by Dickinson State on Saturday, September 20th.