Bismarck, N.D. – The Minot State men's and women's cross-country teams wrapped up the regular season with strong performances at their final tune-up meet, highlighted by a third-place finish from senior Bailey Wride and a first career top-10 finish from freshman Carter Heggem.

Wride led the Beaver women with a third-place finish in the 6K, crossing the finish line in 21:46.0. Julie Folk followed in 22nd place with a time of 24:00.2, while Addyson Wendt finished 30th in 25:12.3. Afton Wride (28:37.7) and Evelyn Isaak (32:44.7) rounded out the Minot State lineup.

The Beaver women finished fourth overall with 104 points, behind U-Mary (43), Jamestown (48) and Northern State (62).

On the men's side, freshman Carter Heggem paced the Beavers with a 10th-place finish in the 8K, recording a time of 27:12.0 for his first career top-10 finish. Holter Bridwell placed 21st in 28:11.5, followed by Jake Jenkins in 25th (28:28.3) and Nolan Berglof in 27th (28:41.6). Caden Peterson (29:10.6), Auston Lemer (29:35.9), Cameron Hummel (29:51.3) and Aijay Gourneau (35:12.5) also competed for the Beavers.

Minot State placed third overall in the men's team standings with 93 points, finishing behind U-Mary (27) and Jamestown (30).

Following her third-place finish, Wride reflected on the importance of the performance heading into the championship portion of the season.

"I feel like for me and my teammates, it's a big booster, like a morale," Wride said. "Mostly, just to have a good, solid race under our feet so we feel excited to get after it."

Heggem also discussed the significance of his top-10 finish and the team's performance heading into the championship meet.

"It feels really good," Heggem said of earning his first top-10 finish. "It was definitely something new for me. I wasn't expecting to do that."

Heggem also credited teammate Holter Bridwell for helping him through the opening portion of the race, noting that running together early on was helpful as he settled into his race.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.