FARGO, N.D. - The South Dakota cross country teams get back into action on Friday when they compete at the Bison Open hosted by North Dakota State. The event will be held at the Rose Creek Golf Course in Fargo, N.D.

The women's 6K race begins at 5 p.m. that day, while the men's 8K competition begins at 5:40 p.m. on Friday. It is the third of five events in the fall for the Coyote teams, who were last in action on Sept. 17 at the Nebraska Woody Greeno Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.

Last Time Out Sophomores Jeff Mettler and Ashleigh Giese paced the South Dakota cross country teams at the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational Saturday at Pioneers Park in Lincoln, Neb. Both Coyote teams placed fifth at the event, with the men finishing at 178 points and the women at 186.

Mettler (Eureka, S.D.) placed eighth in the men's field with a time of 25:04.87 and ran the fastest time by any Coyote male runner on the Pioneers Park course. The Coyote men placed five runners in the top 50 in the field of more than 180 runners. In addition to Mettler's strong showing, junior Ethan Marquardt (Albert Lea, Minn.) placed 42nd at 26:23.77, while sophomore Travis Brenner (Yankton, S.D.) placed 47th at 26:28. Freshman Brant Haase (Lemmon, S.D.) was 51st at 26:32.22, while sophomore Alex Hohenthaner (Yankton, S.D.) was 58th at 26:37.57.

For the women, Giese paced a competitive Coyote pack with a 23rd-place finish. She finished with a time of 22:44. The top seven Coyotes finished within 47 seconds of each other. Sophomore Megan Hilson (Yankton, S.D.) was 38th at 23:02, while senior Emma (Erickson) Ladwig (Gayville, S.D.) was 40th in her season debut at 23:05.33. Junior Sigornie Pfefferle (Grand Island, Neb.) was 54th at 23:20.33, while sophomore Britni Waller (Lincoln, Neb.) was 55th at 23:20.48.

What's Ahead After the Bison Open, the Coyotes are off until Oct. 15 when they host the Tim Young Invitational, which begins at 10 a.m.