GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Montana Tech's cross country teams tangled with some of the nation's best Saturday morning at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge. 

Redshirt freshman Tyler Inabnit led the Oredigger men to 15th place at the country's largest NAIA-only meet, hosted by Aquinas College, racing to 29th place in 24:53.8 around the 8-kilometer course at Grand Rapids' Riverside Park. 

The Oredigger women took 20th place. 

Inabnit led three Montana Tech men in the top 100. Sophomore Layne Niemeyer was 76th (25:33.2), and junior Bryon Fanning took 92nd (25:42.5). 

Sophomore Michael Marlow (110th, 25:56.8) and senior Derek Schultz (120th, 26:04.7) rounded out the scoring five for the Tech men. 

The Oredigger men totaled 411 points to land squarely 15th in the 22-team field, which featured 13 squads appearing in the latest NAIA ratings. Tech was second among the three Frontier Conference teams in the race. 

Freshman Paige Braseth again set the pace for the Oredigger women, coming across the line in 106th. She traversed the 6k course in 19:26.9. 

Sophomore Mya Green (144th, 20:01.2), freshman Bria Ohs (148th, 20:10.4), and sophomore Kendra Jensen (149th, 20:12.7) all finished in the top 150, and sophomore Amy Broek added the fifth time for the Orediggers at 20:14.0, which put her 152nd. 

Tech's women totaled 577 team points. 

The races were the final tune-up for the Oredigger cross country teams ahead of the Frontier Conference championship meet, scheduled for Friday, November 6 at Amend Park in Billings.

Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.

###