LAMONI, Iowa - The Ashford University men's cross country team concluded their regular season with a fifth place finish at the Graceland Invitational.

The Saints elected to prepare for the MCC Conference Championships in two weeks, giving some of the team's runners rest. Yet despite the missing runners, there were still some positives to be taken out of Saturday's performance.

"Alex (Gonzales) and Doug (Powers) both had their best races of this year," Saints Head Coach Tyson Graham said. "Both look stronger each race, which is very important heading into the final race. I'd look for our top 3 to be in the running for All-Conference first team members with the addition of Brian (Meyer) back in the line-up at the MCC race."

The Saints were led by the aforementioned Gonzales, who finished in eighth place overall with a time of 27:26. Powers also finished in the top-10, clocking in at 27:38 which was good for 10th overall.

Freshman Tyler Randolph was next in line for the Saints, finishing 20th overall with a time of 28:52. Freshman Zach Pavlich was next in line, finishing 34th with a time of 30:03.

Junior Aleksander Jakobsen rounded out the Ashford results, finishing in 43rd with a time of 32:16.

The Saints will use the next two weeks to prepare for the MCC Championships, which take place on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 10:00 am in Dubuque, Iowa.