FALCON HEIGHTS, Minnesota - The Thunderbird men's and women's cross country teams were in action on Saturday at the 31st annual Roy Griak Invitational.

The No. 26 men's team took to the course first, squaring off against seven other teams in the USTFCCCA Top 30, eventually finishing in eighth place.

Kasey Knevelbaard finished first for the Thunderbirds, finishing the 8K course in 25:24 to finish in ninth place. In Southern Utah's first two races with their top squad this season Knevelbaard has finished first for the Thunderbirds both times.

Behind Kasey was freshman Aidan Reed, who finished just one spot behind his teammate with a time of 25:24 and finished in 10th place.

Matthew Wright finished third for SUU and 27th overall with a time of 25:41. He was followed by Brady Olson who finished in 93th with a time of 26:28 and George Espino rounded out the scoring for SUU finishing 94th with a time of 26:29.

Rounding out the team Josh Collins finished sixth for SUU and 108th overall with a time of 26:41 and Liam Kennell finished seventh for the Thunderbirds and 126th overall with a time of 26:49.

Despite having a couple athletes fall off pace SUU head coach Eric Houle said there are a lot of positives from the meet.

“Aidan as a freshman, that's the best performance by a Southern Utah guy that young and if you think about it that's some pretty strong company and he looks like he's off to a very good start,” he said. “And Kasey, he's just a sophomore finishing ninth, that's crazy good.”

No. 19 Portland upset three teams ranked higher than them to finish in first place with a team score of 69, and they were followed by Iowa State who was not ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 30. No. 14 Boise State rounded out the top three teams on the men's side with 112 points.

The Thunderbird women's team, who came into Saturday as the No. 15 team in the Mountain Region, finished the Jack Johnson Women's Gold Race in 22nd place.

Angie Nickerson was the top finisher for the Thunderbirds, finishing in 60th overall with a time of 22:56. Nickerson has also been the top Thunderbird in both of the races the women's team has competed at this season.

Sharlie Dimick finished second for Southern Utah and 124th overall, with a time of 23:40. Josie Riggs, the lone senior in the group, finished third for SUU and 129th overall with a time of 23:43.

Ashley Tyndall finished in fourth for SUU and Brighton Glassman finished in fifth, rounding out the scoring for the Thunderbirds with times of 23:47 and 24:17 respectively.

Freshmen Julieta Navarrete-Lamas and Julia Mahlke rounded out the field for Southern Utah.

Houle said the young women's team is making all the right improvements this season.

“They feel really good about the meet, and so do I,” he said. “It was a real good performance and we're expecting better things next weekend.”

The women's team finished ahead of Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa and Big Sky Conference opponents Eastern Washington and Idaho State.

Next weekend the teams will split up, with the men's team heading to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational and the women's team will be competing in Sacramento at the Sacramento Challenge.