EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - Former Drake standout Matt Gabrielson, competing for Team USA, finished 18th at the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Team Challenge Saturday (Jan. 8) at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Team USA took second place with a score of 53 points at the first ever race of the International Team Challenge series. Teams competing had a total of nine runners with the top six scoring on each team. The lowest overall score determines the winning squad. The European Select team won the event with a score of 50 points.

Gabrielson, a Belmond, Iowa, native, finished the 8.2 kilometers race in 26:43.  However, his time was five seconds shy of the scoring mark for Team USA. Great Britain's Mo Farah won the race with a time of 25:41.

Gabrielson, a 12-time All-Missouri Valley Conference performer, owns the school indoor record in the 3,000-meter run of 8:06.44 set in 2000. He also ran the anchor leg on Drake's distance medley relay which won the 1999 MVC indoor title en route to setting a school record of 9:40.03.

Leading the Team USA charge was Galen Rupp, who was timed in 25:50. Rupp won the 10,000-meter title last year at the USATF Championships at Drake Stadium.