Men’s and women’s non-scoring teams wrap up season

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The bottom half of the Gophers men’s cross country team closed its season Friday with a perfect sweep of the St. John’s Fall Finale.

All 13 Gophers runners finished in order atop the race.

Freshman Adam Zutz won the race unattached after pacing the field for the majority of the 8-kilometer race. Another unattached freshman, Matt Jergenson, came in second.

Assistant coach Chris Rombough, who traveled with the team to the St. Cloud-area meet, said their development has exceeded the team’s expectations.

The team thought at the beginning of the year that Zutz might crack the scoring roster, but Jergenson has come from a small high school program in Caledonia and
impressed.

While the two freshmen showed signs of encouragement for next year, several other runners had disappointing races.

“We were hoping for better performances from some of the other guys. Sometimes I feel like a low-key meet is a little detrimental,” Rombough said.

“Some of the guys weren’t mentally prepared to race.”

Paul Hilsen was the first official scorer to cross the finish line, but was outpaced by the freshman. Hilsen ran in the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 30 and Rombough said he may have still been tired from that meet.

Several runners from the scoring team drove up to cheer on the non-scorers.

Rocky’s Run caps women’s home slate

The Gophers women’s cross country team hosted Rocky’s Run on Sunday in its final home meet of the season.

No team score was kept, but the meet served as a way for runners to gauge their growth from the beginning of the season to now.

“This is probably the most difficult meet the kids run all year because you’re kind of at the end , and it’s a tough situation,” head coach Gary Wilson said. “I think the kids fought well today.”

Rachel Drake was able to pass Missa Varpness at the finish line and was the Gophers’ first team finisher Sunday. 

Drake finished with a time of 22 minutes, 25 seconds, and Varpness finished just one second behind her.

The top runners who will run at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships did not compete in Rocky’s Run.

“For our group that’s not moving on to the regional meet and national meet, it’s just a great way to wrap up the season,” assistant coach Sarah Hesser said.

More than 200 runners participated in the Rocky’s Run, which helps raise money for the Rocky Racette Foundation.  

Racette died in a car accident in 1981.

She was a former All-American for the Gophers and holds the school record for the 10-kilometer race.

“She had a big impact on people and it’s nice to have this established in her name,” Wilson said.