CRYSTAL, Minn.-- North Central Men's Cross Country used a great team performance to pick up a win at the Early Bird Invitational held at Bassett Creek Park on Wednesday evening. Junior Jeff Winkelman earned his first collegiate race victory over the four mile course and was followed by three other Rams in the top ten.
Jeff Winkelman (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point) pulled away from the field mid race and cruised to a 44 second victory. Freshman Josiah Miller (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) earned a third place finish overall and took the second slot for NCU. Senior David Calhoun (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) ran just behind Miller in fourth place and junior Jay Beichley (Gladbrook, Iowa/Gladbrook-Reinbeck) finished ninth. Junior Owen Hein (Montevideo, Minn./Montevideo) rounded out the top five for NCU with a 13th place overall finish.
NCU finished with 30 points, five ahead of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opponent Northwestern College (St. Paul, Minn.). UMAC opponent Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minn.) was third with 55 points.
North Central will take this weekend off before racing at the St. John's Invitational (Collegeville, Minn.) on September 11. The men's race begins at 10:30am.
