Racing against some of the top teams in the country, the St. Ambrose men finished sixth and the Bee women took seventh at the Bethel Invitational Friday afternoon. The event, which featured 10 teams in each race, was held at St. Patrick's County Park in South Bend, Ind.

Adeline Smith led the SAU women by placing 23rd overall in the 5K race. She finished in 20:44, just five seconds out of a top-20 showing. Rileigh Fortune was second on the team, coming in 39th in 21:27.

Allison Hein and Jayne Eilderts were next for the Bees. Hein was 60th in 22:50 and Eilderts had a time of 23:11. Rylee McCrery (24:34) and Loryn Heil (28:06) also competed for St. Ambrose.

Will Dowda and Luke Benes finished within two seconds of each other in the men's 8K. Dowda was 16th overall in a time of 26:52, and Benes was right behind in 26:54, good for 18th.

Chris Miserendino was the third SAU finisher, taking 39th in 27:54. Noah Maske and Ian Eller finished virtually side by side, with Maske crossing in 28:14 and Eller clocking in at 28:15, to round out the Bee top five.

Nathan Boleyn (28:38), Bryan Flentge (29:17), Ross Willerth (29:26), Brennon Munch (29:35), Kale Cartee (29:47), Kevin Chaney (30:29) and Donnie Ingram (31:54) also ran for the Bees.

SAU will compete in the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 22.