The University of Minnesota Duluth men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2025 season in Prescott, Wis. at the Prescott High School Cross Country Course where the Bulldogs competed in the River Town Invitational Friday night.


The UMD women ran to title with the help from three top-five finishers, including senior Elizabeth VanLoon in second (23:24.9), junior Ellie Hanowski in fourth (Ellie Hanowski) and senior Kira Almsberger in fifth (Kira Almsberger). Sophomore Claire Becker and freshman Sadie Eicher also placed in the top-10 --  Becker in seventh (23:44.9) and Eicher in ninth (24:08.3).


On the men's side, the Bulldogs placed third as a squad and were led by freshman Isaac Dickenson in eighth with a time of 26:55.4. UMD's second highest finisher was sophomore Connor Bialka with a 27:18.3, good enough for 12th and junior Noah Foster was the third Bulldog in in 16th with a time of 27:35.1.


UMD will do it all over again a week from now when they head to St. Paul, Minn. Friday to run in the legendary Roy Griak Invitational. For more information on the Roy Griak Invitational, click here.