The Yellowjacket men's cross country team, after a strong performance to start the 2017 season last week at UW-River Falls, finished 13th at Saturday's St. Olaf Invitational in Northfield, Minnesota.
 
"It was a little bit of a different environment for us this week," Yellowjacket Head Coach Glen Drexler said. "The rain held off but it was extremely hot and humid. Our runners haven't run in weather like that since July and I think it was a little bit of a tougher adjustment for them today."
 
Reigning UMAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week Evan Walpole (Superior, Wis./Superior) was the top finisher for the Yellowjackets, finishing the 8-kilometer course with a time of 27:22.6, good for 33rd place out of nearly 300 runners.
 
The big mover of the afternoon for the Yellowjackets was Rand Bieri (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet). Bieri shaved nearly 45 seconds off of his time at the same event a year ago. He was the second-highest finisher for the Yellowjackets on this day, coming in with a time of 27:45.2. The time was 34 seconds short of setting a new personal record for Bieri.
 
"Rand ran a great race today. It was the best race that he ever ran in the event at St. Olaf," Drexler said. "We're early in the season and if he does the right things Rand has a chance to make this a really special year."
 
The top five finishers for the Yellowjackets ran a combined time of 2:22:44.6.
 
Up Next: The Yellowjackets will have a week off before they return to Northfield for the annual Running of the Cows, hosted by Carleton College. The race kicks off at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, September 30.