SPEARFISH, S.D. – Samantha Rodewald raced to a top five finish to lead Chadron State's performances at the season-opening Gage McSpadden XC Invite, hosted Friday by Black Hills State University.

Rodewald ran the women's 4K event in 15:10.7, crossing the line fifth and running 18 seconds faster than she did in the same event last year. The junior from McCook, Nebraska averaged a 6.06 mile time during her race. 

Blaine Johnson was Chadron State's top finisher on the men's side, crossing the line of the men's 6K in 15^thplace with a time of 19:29.7 out of a field of 83 men's runners. Johnson, a senior, bested his previous career-best time at the 6K distance by over 15 seconds. 

Behind Rodewald, the secondary pack of Chadron State female runners paced one another, with CSC freshman Paige Kehmeier, sophomore Kyndall Carnahan and junior Katelyn Beshara crossing 26^th, 27^th and 28^th, respectively, with times in between 16:12 and 16:13. Junior Ivy Hise rounded out CSC's scoring five with a 52^nd-place finish in 17:59.9.

The Eagles finished fifth of six in the team results, with their score of 124 besting RMAC rival South Dakota Mines's 127 but coming in behind Carleton, Black Hills State, Rocky Mountain and MSU Billings. 

Johnson led a pack of 10 Chadron runners competing in Spearfish, with a mix of freshmen, veterans and returners up and down the team leaderboard. Two Nebraska freshmen – Grand Island's Kaden Boltz and Hemingford's Boady Hunter – both found their way into Chadron State's scoring five, with Boltz finishing 22^nd with a time of 19:37.2 and Hunter crossing 49^th in 20:35.1. Nate Mann, a senior who redshirted last cross-country season, returned to the lineup and was the third Eagle across the line behind Johnson and Boltz, running 19:40.0 to finish 24^th. 

Junior Adam Beard rounded out the CSC scoring with a 55^th-place finish in 20:59.2. In the team standings, the CSC men were fourth out of six, trailing Black Hills State, Rocky Mountain and South Dakota Mines but ahead of Carleton and MSU Billings. 

Five other CSC athletes competed and did not score team points – senior Miles Mitchell (65^th, 21:32.9), freshman Mizaiha Babers Webb (70^th, 21:44.2), freshman Andrew Walsh (80^th, 22:39.7), sophomore Carmelo Ayala (82^nd, 22:56.2) and redshirt freshman David West (83^rd, 22:57.0).

The Eagles have over three weeks off before their next competition date on September 27 at the Ted Castenada Classic in Colorado Springs.