perforMinnesota freshman Ayla Mitchell finished third to lead the Golden Gopher women’s cross country team’s performance at the annual Rocky’s Run at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, Minn., on Sunday. Mitchell was clocked in 19 minutes, 2.0 seconds over the 5-kilometer course. Former Gopher runner Rasa (Michniovaite) Troup was the top female finisher in 17:37.

Other top Gopher finishers were Ariella DePrenger-Gottfried in fifth with a time of 19:09 and Stefanie Zeihen in sixth in 19:30.

The Gophers rested their top runners in preparation for next Saturday’s NCAA Midwest Region Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. Minnesota is chasing its first NCAA Championships appearance since 2001.