The Georgetown men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational this past weekend and earned two top-25 finishes.

Junior Paige Hofstad, who placed 32nd overall with a time of 20:23 in the 6000-meter women’s championship race, recorded the Hoyas’ top time. Junior Margie Cullen followed Hofstad with a time of 21:19.3 and finished 111th overall.

Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Julie Culley praised Hofstad’s mindset.

“[Hofstad] has her sights set on finishing in the top of every meet she competes in this season,” Culley said in an interview with The Hoya.

Freshman Alyssa Aldridge, freshman Katie Dammer and junior Meg Mathison, all new to the team, contributed to the squad this past weekend.

Dammer placed 143rd, recording a time of 21:38.0, while Aldridge and Mathison followed less than one minute behind.

On the men’s side, junior Jack Van Scoter placed 55th overall in the 8,000 m with a time of 24:03.7. Graduate student Christian Liddell and senior Nick Wareham came in close behind Van Scooter. Liddell recorded a time of 24:05.1 while Wareham finished in 24:08.9.

The Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational consisted of some of the most talented cross country programs in the nation, including the No.1 New Mexico women’s team and the No.1 Northern Arizona men’s team.

Head Men’s Cross Country Coach Brandon Bonsey recognized the tough competition at the meet.

“ [The Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational] is the most competitive meet in the NCAA outside of the NCAA meet itself,” Bonsey said in an interview with The Hoya.

Both teams will return to the course, located in Madison, Wis., in late November for the NCAA championship meet.

Coach Bonsey was focused on his runners getting experience at the course, but noted that the runners must improve their pacing.

“[The team] went out a little too hard … [Our goal is to] be a little bit smarter and have a little bit more poise… [There is] still plenty of time to fix that,” Bonsey said in an interview with The Hoya.

Coach Culley stressed the importance of competing against the best squads in the nation and explained that the Hoyas can improve throughout the season.

“The more experience we gain racing the best in the nation in these larger fields, the better… [We want to] finish as high as possible,” Culley said. “This performance wasn’t representative of who we are as a team currently.”

The men’s and women’s teams will race at the Penn State National on Friday Oct. 12, Georgetown’s final meet before the Big East Championships on Oct. 27.