ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Brook Rasmussen came very close to winning a race in her first season with the College of Saint Benedict cross country team in 2014.
Rasmussen took third in the first meet of her collegiate career, and finished the year with three other top-20 finishes.
As a sophomore, Rasmussen wasted no time in picking up a win.
Rasmussen, a Big Lake, Minn., native, won CSB’s first meet of the year Saturday despite hot, humid conditions when the Blazers traveled to St. Bonifacius, Minn., for the Crown College Invite. For her performance, Rasmussen has been named the CSB Athlete of the Week.
After a first-year season that saw her earn All-MIAC Honorable Mention accolades, Rasmussen broke though Saturday morning at Crown. In spite of a heat advisory throughout the area due to the high temperatures and humidity, Rasmussen pulled through to beat out 43 other runners to win the invite.
Rasmussen’s 6K time of 24:15.2 was nearly a minute faster than the second-place finisher and helped her notch the first victory of her collegiate career. It also helped CSB sweep 14 of the top 15 spots on its way to a perfect score of 15.
This marks the fifth top-20 finish of Rasmussen’s career. After finishing third at the St. Kate’s dual last season, she took eighth at the Luther Invite, 13
th at the Colorado College Invite and 20
th at the MIAC Championships to earn All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors.
Rasmussen and the Blazers are off now until Friday, Sept. 18, when they travel to South Bend, Ind., to the National Catholic Invite hosted by Notre Dame.
