ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The College of Saint Benedict cross country team will host the annual Toni St. Pierre Invitational Friday, Sept. 18. The meet, which will feature a women's six-kilometer race at 6 p.m. followed by an eight-kilometer men's race at 6:45 p.m., will take place at Rive Oaks Golf Club in Cold Spring, Minn. 

 

It will be the second competition of the young season for Saint Ben's, which opened the year at the UCCS Rust Buster, hosted by University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Saturday, Sept. 5. Four Bennies finished in the top-50 of the 5k race, led by sophomore Daphne Grobstein (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins). Grobstein crossed the finish line with a time of 20:02.2, good for 41st. Junior Mollie Ping (Winona, Minn./Winona) finished 43rd with a personal-best time of 20:05.0. Senior Abby Bufkin (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain) notched a 46th-place finish in her hometown race behind a time of 20:08.6. Senior Anabella Witschen (Monticello, Minn./Monticello) rounded out the top-50 finishers, as her time of 20:20.8 was good for 49th.  

 

Saint Benedict looks to win its second consecutive Toni St. Pierre Invitational. A season ago, the Bennies defended their house behind a runner-up performance from Mary Kenney. Kenney crossed the finish line with a time of 19:06.9, the 17th-fastest five-kilometer time in program history. Grobstein was fifth (19:22.2), while then-junior Julia Babineau (Andover, Minn./Andover) finished 10th (20:04.6).  

 

Named after one of the most influential women in CSB athletics history, as well as Minnesota cross country history, the invitational takes place annually to honor the legendary Toni St. Pierre. St. Pierre, who passed away at the age of 58 in 2013, was a trailblazer in women's athletics in the 1970s. She played a crucial role in advancing gender equity in sports and was a pioneer in earning rights to compete for women's athletics. In the 1970s in a revolutionary court case that changed the landscape of athletics, the federal court ruled in favor of the two Minnesota teenagers, (St. Pierre and Peggy Brenden), who challenged the eligibility rules of the Minnesota State High School League. Later, St. Pierre competed as part of the Saint John's University men's cross country team because a varsity program did not yet exist at Saint Ben's. She was named to CSB's 50th Anniversary All-Decade Team in 2023. 

 

Live results for the meet can be tracked by clicking here, while more meet information can be found here.