Before it could focus on the upcoming Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships, the University of Minnesota Duluth had Friday's Bob Waxlax Invitational to attend to. And attend to it did.

The Bulldogs placed five runners among the top nine finishers to take the four-school event, which was held at the Wapicada Golf Course in Sauk Rapids, Minn. UMD totaled 33 points as team to outscore host St. Cloud State University (41 pts.), Southwest Minnesota State University (72 pts.) and Concordia University-St. Paul (94 pts.). All four of those institutions are members of the NSIC.

Junior Mitch Fisher led the way for the Bulldogs, completing the 8K race in a time of 26:25 to place third out of 43 individuals. Rookies occupied the next four spots -- Josh Peterson (6th; 26:37), Grant Pulver (7th; 26:43), Cody Sedbrook (8th; 26:48) and Blake Anderson (9th; 26:50) -- while  junior Joey Erickson was 12th (27:06).

"This race was a good final tune up for the conference meet," said UMD head coach Paul Nisius. "It was nice to have only a 25-second spread between the top five runners, four of which were freshmen."

The NSIC Championships, scheduled for Nov. 8 in Wayne, Neb., is the next event on UMD's agenda.

2014 Bob Waxlax Invitational Results