Knutson, Mitchell lead Mustangs at Briar Cliff

NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. -- J'Lyn Knutson and Ryan Mitchell were top-30 finishers this weekend in competitive fields of more than 200 runners at the Briar Cliff Invitational at the Adams Nature Preserve.

Mount Mercy placed 12th out of 17 teams on the women's side with 321 points. Dordt was your team champion with 58 points, just ahead of the 65 points for Sioux Falls. Concordia (Neb.) (73 pts.), Minnesota State (74), and South Dakota State (134) rounded out the top five.

Knutson ran a personal-best in the 6K, crossing the finish line in 22:56.4 to place 26th out of 224 competitors. The Mustang roster also included Emma Althoff (60th/23:49.4), Jessa Day (100th/24:40.4), Abby Knepper (110th/24:49.9), Abby Rinderknecht (132nd/25:10.6), Ariana Lopez (140th/25:15.9), Kayla Overton (145th/25:22.0), Carli Reittinger (187th/26:41.8), and Laura Bishop (197th/27:31.5).

In men's action, Mount Mercy ended up 10th out of 18 teams at Briar Cliff. The Mustangs finished with 301 points. The men's team title also went to Dordt, who tallied just 46 points. Minnesota State (63) was runner-up, followed by Sioux Falls (71), Doane (116), and William Penn (174).

Individually, Mitchell ran the best 8K of his collegiate career, finishing 27th in 25:44.2. Ryan Clancy was 64th (26:37.7), Brady Cortez 96th (27:20.3), Ty Costigan 119th (28:03.1), Lukas Lamparek 123rd (28:08.7), Noah Cokel 142nd (28:34.9), Trey Schulte 165th (29:25.0), Josh Smith 171st (29:29.3), Luke Munsey 192nd (30:53.2), and Nathan Skala 197th (31:33.7).

The Mustangs return to their home course on Oct. 21, hosting the Seminole Valley Stampede at 11:30 am at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids.