COLFAX, Wis. — The Carthage men's cross country team placed 10th overall at the Blugold Invitational on Friday afternoon, hosted by Wis-Eau Claire. The Firebirds battled through a deep 34-team field that featured several regionally and nationally ranked opponents.
 

 
Carthage scored 303 points to finish 10th, with No. 24 Wis-Platteville taking the team title at 104 points. No. 17 Wis-Stevens Point (111), No. 12 Hope (119), No. 1 Wis-La Crosse (119), and No. 11 St. Olaf (143) rounded out the top five teams.
 

 
Senior Jacob Curulewski continued his strong season with a sixth-place finish, covering the 8k course in 24:51.9. Sophomore Harlan Matson added a top-30 showing in 25:49.6 for 28th place. Junior Luke Davey (85th, 26:51.9), senior Connor Wood (92nd, 27:01.6), and freshman Luke Adair (94th, 27:03.1) rounded out Carthage's scoring five.



Jacob [Curulewski] again led the way with a top 10 finish (sixth at 24:51.9). What did you see in his race today that reinforced his role as your team anchor?

"Today was a good test for Jacob," said Head Coach Josh Henry. "There were multiple All-Americans in the field including last year's National Runner-Up. It was nice to get challenged and see what we need to work on during the back half of the season to have him ready for championship racing. He's continuing to prove he's unafraid of big time competition and can hang with the best of them. Another very strong showing from him."

Your second scorer, Harlan [Matson], put up a solid 28th (25:49.6). In what ways do you feel your underclassmen are progressing, and how do you see that affecting your team depth going forward?

"This is way more the type of race we expect to see out of Harlan when compared to his last race at Wheaton. I am very confident he will continue to improve and will be a big factor for us down the stretch this season. As for the other underclassmen, it was great to see another freshman break into the top 5 today with Luke's [Adair] performance. He and Sam Cernetich ran exceptionally well today in only their second 8k of their collegiate career. The development of our youth this season will have a big impact on how successful we are late in the season. I would also add that even though we have some seniors in the mix, they have sat behind some talented runners in previous years. So for them to also step up the way that they have without some of the big race experience you'd expect from a senior in your top seven has been exciting to watch. Today Connor [Wood] finishing as our fourth man was a huge part of today's team success."

Carthage placed 10th with 303 points in a deep 34-team field. What's your evaluation of how the team handled this level of competition, and where do you want to focus improvements before your next meet?

"I was very happy with where we finished today in what essentially was a preview of the Regional Championships. I think even more encouraging is the fact that we ran well today, but there still are a lot of ways to improve. This group is motivated to get back to work and I'm excited to see what we can do with the next race opportunity at Augustana."
 

 
The Firebirds return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Interregional Invitational hosted by Augustana (Ill.) in Rock Island, Ill. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.