EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Drake University junior Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) finished second at the Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship Saturday morning in Evansville, Ind. Fischer's finish was the highest by a Bulldog since the 2011 championship.

For the women's team, senior Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) was the top finisher with a fourth-place showing.

Fischer completed the 8-kilometer course in 24:00.47, just 21 seconds behind four-time MVC Champion John Mascari of Indiana State. SIU's Brandon Shemonia finished on Fischer's heels in 24:01.83.

“Reed ran a really gutsy race and tried to go with [John] Mascari,” said Drake head coach Dan Hostager. “It left him a bit vulnerable to the back but he put forth a great effort and ended up holding on.

Griffin Jaworksi (Winter Park, Fla.) was the second Bulldog across the finish line in 24:36.67 in his first MVC Championship. Chris Kaminski (New Lennox, Ill.), Ali Jandal (LaCrosse, Wis.) and Rob McCann (Mississauga, Ontario) completed the scoring for the Bulldogs. 

“Griffin ran an outstanding race with a personal best,” Hostager said. “All of our guys are excited and ready for the 10k distance at NCAA Regionals."

As a team, the Drake men finished seventh with 129 points, just one point behind sixth-place Loyola. Bradley claimed the men's team title with 65 points.

The Drake women's team was led again by its senior class as the top four Bulldogs across the finish line were all seniors. 

“We got outstanding efforts today from our women and were led again by our seniors,” Hostager said. “They've worked extremely hard not only this past fall and summer, but for several years and we're seeing that really paying off."

Huston led that pack with her fourth-place finish in 17:02.87 followed by Krista Maguire (Wausau, Wis.) in 15th place in 17:37.64. Taylor Scholl (Prior Lake, Minn.) crossed next in 17:37.64 to finish in 22nd place while Cassie Aerts (David City, Neb.) was 35th in 18:16.31.

The Bulldog will spend the next two weeks continuing their training in preparation for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship on Nov. 13 in Lawrence, Kan.