NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Hannah Preisser and Sophie McManus finished 1-2 for the second consecutive meet as the No. 15-ranked Carleton College women's cross country program won the 22-team St. Olaf Invitational. Aliya Larsen was close behind, crossing the line fourth overall.
 
"The team did a tremendous job implementing a solid race structure. The pack running overall is coming together," said Carleton head coach Donna Ricks. "Hannah, Sophie and Aliya have been doing a great job getting the team off the line and establishing positioning. What we then needed to happen was for Lara Erickson, Nora Daley, and Libby Rowland to tighten the spread, and they did just that today which made a big impact."
 
Priesser posted a winning time of 21:57.8., with McManus crossing the line eight seconds later. Larsen finished at 22:39.1 to notch her second straight top-5 result.
 
Erickson was next to complete the six-kilometer course with a time of 23:45.6, good for 12th overall. Daley placed 16th at 23:50.9, while Rowland finished 29th at 24:19.9.
 
"First-year Kayla Marx (24:38.7) and Maggie Votruba (25:07.8) had very solid races," said Ricks. "I'm excited to see their progression over the season."
 
The Knights posted a team score of 35, while meet host and No. 12-ranked St. Olaf took second place with 54 points. UW-Eau Claire was third at 123 points, with No. 30 UW-Stout taking fourth with a score of 157.
 
"There is no doubt we have all been feeling some pressure," Ricks said. "We have a great deal of respect for everyone in the MIAC and the North Region. There is a lot of season ahead of us competing against great teams, and we need to focus on staying healthy and training in the way that works for our team."
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will host the Running of the Cows meet on Saturday, Oct. 5. The starting gun will go off at 10:30 a.m. That meet will serve as the preview for the North Region championships to be held in November.