Huskies Cross Country Enjoys Strong Start to 2023 Campaign at Toni St. Pierre Invite

Friday, September 8

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Toni St. Pierre Invite

Freshman Alena Donahue earned the top finish for St. Cloud State, taking seventh at the Toni St. Pierre Invite on Sep. 8, 2023

Huskies Cross Country Enjoys Strong Start to 2023 Campaign at Toni St. Pierre Invite

9/8/2023 10:20:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

St. Cloud State freshmen Alena Donahue and Paige Beason earn top-10 finishes in first collegiate race

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Cross Country opened their 2023 season with a strong performance at the Toni St. Pierre Invite at Boulder Ridge Golf Course in St. Cloud on Friday evening, landing four athletes in the top 16 with one personal best.

True freshman Alena Donahue placed seventh in her first collegiate meet to pace the Huskies, running a 20:05.89. Fellow first-year Paige Beason finished 10^th in 20:24.27 to join her in the top-10, followed by Cambrie Kowal (14^th, 21:06.79) and a cross country PR from Erica Conrad (16^th, 21:21.48). Jaileen Medina (27^th, 22:53.60) earned a top-30 finish to close out the Huskies' performance.

QUOTABLES – St. Cloud State head coach Gabrielle Brown

"First meet of the season – after time to digest and reflect, I'm feeling very grateful to have completed my first meet as a Husky. The energy going into the meet was relaxed, calm and confident. Even with a few members of our team being out right now for various reasons, I felt very confident in the women that were stepping into that starting box. Just as we tell the student-athletes, 'we just need to see a mark,' I feel for us as coaches it's the same thing. We have a mark, and we feel confident knowing where we are that we can continue growing. Overall I'm overwhelmed with gratitude – it was great to see the track & field team come out and support our runners and the leadership we have withing our program."

On the way her athletes attacked their first race of the season… "Man, I have the biggest smile on my face right now! I was so impressed with the ways our young people stepped up today. When I think about how training has been going, the individual and collective conversations we've been having, it's really exciting to me to see two first-years leading the pack. It's also really exciting to me to see our returners improving on their marks from previous years. Meet number one and we already have progress."

On the strong performances by her freshmen… "We have some 'Baby Huskies' who want to get after it. Tonight, them doing what they did is exactly what needed to happen to help light the fire and keep it going. Not only for themselves, but for the entire team. Having Baby Huskies lead the pack is overwhelming in all the best ways. Our staff knows that this is just the start – it's the confidence boost that they needed to see how their training is already paying off. That energy will be contagious not just with the Cross Country team, but the entire program itself."

St. Cloud State at Toni St. Pierre Invite
Sep. 8, 2023 | Boulder Ridge Golf Course | St. Cloud, Minn.

7. Alena Donahue – 20:05.85
10. Paige Beason – 20:24.27
14. Cambrie Kowal – 21:06.79
16. Erica Conrad – 21:21.48 PR
27. Jaileen Medina – 22:53.60

UP NEXT
The Huskies will compete next at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Friday, September 22.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Cross Country, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.