RESULTS

MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Arnold (SR, Grand Rapids, Minn.) and Micheale Tesema (SO, Burnsville, Minn.) lead the Augsburg College men's cross country team with third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in season-opening action at the Augsburg-Bethel dual on a beautiful morning in Riverside Park. Bethel University narrowly topped the Auggies, claiming the dual meet victory by a 30-25 margin.

Arnold ran a strong race for the Auggies, cutting 30 seconds off his time from this same race a year ago, finishing in 16:30 on the 5,000-meter course. Tesema and Arnold ran step-for-step down the final stretch, with Tesema crossing the line at 16:31.

Dakota Darkstar (SO, Minneapolis/Southwest HS) and Daniel Gerber (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) finished in sixth and seventh, respectively, recording times of 16:33 and 16:45 respectively. For Gerber, the race marked a 22-second improvement from last year's opening race.

Newcomer Jason Stevens (FY, Rochester, Minn./Century HS) rounded out the top-five for the Auggies with a 17:09 clocking in his Auggie debut.

Augsburg returns to action on Sept. 17 when it travels to Northfield, Minn. to take part in the St. Olaf College Invitational.

Augsburg finishers:
3. Joe Arnold - 16:30
4. Micheale Tesema - 16:31
6. Dakota Darkstar - 16:33
7. Daniel Gerber - 16:45
10. Jason Stevens - 17:09
11. Brian Byrnes - 17:13
13. Hunter Melius - 17:45
14. Luke Iverson - 17:51
21. Austin Erickson - 18:50