The story
PORTER FALLS — The two-time defending conference champion Ironclad women won the Porter River Invitational on Saturday morning with 31 points, ahead of the Eau Pleine Loggers (48) and Tamarack State (81). On the men's side, Eau Pleine scored 38 to Porter's 45, the third straight year the Loggers have won the men's race on Porter's home course.
Junior Signe Arneson, who has not lost a conference race since arriving at Porter, led the women's 6K from the first climb of Millrace Hill and won in 21:38.4, 19 seconds ahead of Eau Pleine's top runner. Sophomore Clara Ruud was fourth, senior Maya Hjelmstad sixth, first-year Elise Brunner ninth in her collegiate debut and junior Josie Heim 11th. The one-to-five spread was 1:11.5.
Senior Ben Ostrowski was third in the men's 8K in 25:44.1, behind two Loggers. Porter's top five finished within 46.9 seconds of each other, the tightest pack in the field, but Eau Pleine's front two scored 1 and 2. Weather was 54 degrees and overcast; the course, which loops the Porter River flats twice, was firm.
Team scores
| Women (6K) | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1. UW–Porter Falls | 31 |
| 2. Eau Pleine | 48 |
| 3. Tamarack State | 81 |
| 4. Merrimount College | 104 |
| 5. Prairie Rapids College | 139 |
| 6. St. Brendan College | 162 |
| Men (8K) | Pts |
|---|---|
| 1. Eau Pleine | 38 |
| 2. UW–Porter Falls | 45 |
| 3. Tamarack State | 77 |
| 4. Prairie Rapids College | 110 |
| 5. Merrimount College | 128 |
| 6. St. Brendan College | 171 |
Porter finishers
| Place | Women | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signe Arneson, Jr. | 21:38.4 |
| 4 | Clara Ruud, So. | 22:11.0 |
| 6 | Maya Hjelmstad, Sr. | 22:20.7 |
| 9 | Elise Brunner, Fy. | 22:41.2 |
| 11 | Josie Heim, Jr. | 22:49.9 |
| 15 | Nora Pfeifer, Sr. | 23:02.3 |
| 19 | Hanna Stromme, So. | 23:20.0 |
| Place | Men | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Ben Ostrowski, Sr. | 25:44.1 |
| 6 | Raj Menon, Jr. | 25:58.6 |
| 8 | Tobias Engstrom, So. | 26:07.3 |
| 12 | Liam Haas, Sr. | 26:19.8 |
| 16 | Wes Fairbanks, Fy. | 26:31.0 |
What they said
“The women ran like a team that knows it is the team to beat. The men ran like a team that is about to be. Forty-seven seconds is good; we want it under forty by October.”
— Pete Odegaard, head coach
“Losing to the Loggers on our own course three years running is a thing we have discussed. At length.”
— Ben Ostrowski, senior
Meet notes
- Arneson's time is the fourth-fastest 6K ever run on the Porter River course and her best by 22 seconds.
- It was Porter's fourth straight women's team title at its own invitational.
- Brunner was the first Porter first-year to finish in the top ten of the home meet since 2019.
- The meet doubled as alumni day; 38 former Ironclad runners ran the open 5K that followed the varsity races.
Up next
Both teams race the Tamarack State Invitational on September 26 and the Eau Pleine-hosted Logger Open on October 3, a rematch the men have circled. See the fall 2026 schedule and the women's and men's cross country pages. The course is open to the public on non-meet days and starts from the trailhead behind Millwright Stadium.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. This meet, the Eau Pleine Loggers, every runner, time and quote are invented; no real cross country race is described.