MADISON, Wis. - Gonzaga men's cross country placed 17th at the Nuttycombe Invitational on Friday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, knocking off three nationally-ranked teams in the process. Bryce Cerkowniak led GU with a 54th-place finish as the Bulldogs, who received votes in the latest USTFCCCA National Poll, defeated No. 23 Iona, No. 25 Montana State, and No. 29 Tulsa.

Cerkowniak finished in 24:14.4, leading the Gonzaga point-scorers who each placed in the Top 100. Drew Kolodge was next, placing 69th in 24:25.5 while Wil Smith placed 76th in 24:29.2. Cooper Laird and Logan Law rounded out Gonzaga's 389 team points with 93rd-place (Laird, 24:37.5) and 97th-place (Law, 24:38.6) finishes.

The tough 2024 Nuttycombe field featured 18 nationally-ranked men's teams including No. 2 BYU, who won the team title with 44 points while placing their top six finishers in the Top 25. North Carolina's Parker Wolfe took home the individual title with a 23:04.0 finish on the 8K championship course. The Tar Heels placed fourth as a team.

Gonzaga will hope to return to Madison and the Zimmer Championship Course in November at the NCAA Championships, but will resume their postseason preparation on Oct. 5 at the Whitman Invitational in Walla Walla, Wash.