BROOKINGS, S.D. - Sophomore Grady Anderson led a North Dakota State men's cross country team that posted improved times across the board on Friday evening in the SDSU Classic at Edgebrook Golf Course.  

Of the six Bison who also competed at the Bison Invitational on Aug. 31, five improved their eight-kilometer times by more than 15 seconds on Friday evening. The result was a third-place team finish.

Anderson cut 40 seconds off his 8k time from the season opener, earning a 10th place finish overall on Friday in 26:09.62. Fellow sophomore Brett Kelly was not far behind, taking 14th place in 26:30.52.

Redshirt freshman Brendan Skime and sophomore Lucas DeGree were 18th and 20th, respectively. Skime completed the course in 26:35.43, and DeGree crossed the line in 26:36.40. Junior Moses Heppner rounded out the Bison scoring with a time of 27:19.72 for 35th place.

With four underclassmen as its top four finishers, NDSU earned a third-place finish as a team. Host South Dakota State won the team title.

NDSU will compete next on Saturday, Sept. 29, at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.