Hamline Men, Carleton Women Win MIAC

Hamline's men's team and the Carleton women emerged the victors at a deep and balanced Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships today in St. Paul.

Hamline edged defending champions St Olaf 61 to 66 for the men's title. St. Thomas -- the team leader through four scorers -- was 3rd with 82 points. Augsburg finished a program-best 4th with 97, while St. John's was 5th with 101.

Bethel's Dan Greeno won the men's individual title in 25:22.

Complete men's results are HERE.

The Carleton women, ranked #20 in D3, topped #14 Bethel 65 to 91. Three-time defending champions St. Thomas, ranked #23, tallied 94, followed by St. Olaf with 98.

Defending MIAC and NCAA Division III champion Marie Borner of Bethel won the individual race in 21:43.

Complete women's results are HERE.

Gopher Women Seek Harrier Three-Peat; Hassan Mead Seeks Second-Straight Title

In a conference known for its cross country dynasties, the University of Minnesota women's cross country team will seek to become only the third Big Ten program to win three consecutive conference women's cross county titles when the team competes at the 2009 Big Ten Championships on Sunday morning.

The #15-ranked Gopher expect a stiff contest against #13 Illinois, hosts #18 Penn State, and #22 Michigan in order to join Wisconsin and Michigan among the dynastic programs. Wisconsin held the title for two six-year runs, while Michigan accomplished a three-peat and later held the title for five straight years.

Winning a third title will be challenging for the Gophers. Earlier this season, Illinois nipped the Gophers at the NCAA Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Gopher are led by senior all-American Megan Duwell who finished 4th in last year's Big Ten Championships. Also racing for the maroon and gold are: senior Jamie Cheever, senior Heather Dorniden, senior Amy Laskowske, sophomore Stephanie Price, junior Nikki Swenson, senior Mallory Van Ness, freshman Kayla Wagner and senior Elizabeth Yetzer.

The Gopher sports information staff offer THIS comprehensive Big Ten women's preview -- including a video clip.

The Big Ten published THIS feature on Yetzer during the week.


Mead Seeks Individual Repeat ... The Gopher men are looking for some replication in College Park as well, hoping junior Hassan Mead can repeat as the Big Ten men's individual champion. He could join Fred Watson and Garry Bjorklund -- both three-peaters -- as only the third Gopher to win multiple Big Ten harrier crowns.

A victory by Mead would also mean the Big Ten men's individual title has been held by a Gopher for three of the last four year, Chris Rombough having won the title in 2006.

As a team, the un-ranked Gopher men expect to face strong competition from 10-time defending Big Ten team champions Wisconsin. Along with the #15-ranked Badgers, #18 Indiana appears to be the strongest contender for the 2009 Big Ten team crown.

The Gopher men, which finished third in the meet last year and were runners-up in 2007, will line up a young team alongside Mead, namely: senior Matt Barrett, junior Ben Blankenship, red-shirt freshman Travis Burkstrand, red-shirt freshman Pieter Gagnon, red-shirt freshman Paul Hilsen, red-shirt freshman Kevin Lachowitzer, junior Mike McFarland, sophomore Sean Olson, and true freshman Derek Storkel.

The Gopher sports information staff offer THIS comprehensive Big Ten men's preview -- also with video.

They also published THIS feature on Barrett during the week.

Find more information on the meet (and results) from the hosts' web-site HERE.

Short-Cut: High School Section Results

Our links to MSHSL section results ...

Section 1AA: Boys * Girls
Section 2AA: Boys * Girls
Section 3AA: Boys * Girls
Section 4AA: Boys & Girls
Section 5AA: Boys * Girls
Section 6AA: Boys * Girls
Section 7AA: Boys & Girls
Section 8AA: Boys * Girls

Section 1A: Boys * Girls
Section 2A: Boys * Girls
Section 3A: Boys * Girls
Section 4A: Boys * Girls
Section 5A: Boys * Girls
Section 6A: Boys & Girls
Section 7A: Boys & Girls
Section 8A: Boys & Girls

Yes/No: Will Moen Run Faster Than 2:14:30?

Editor's Note: As promised, here's a Yes/No question to go along with yesterday's Pick Ten contest. Remember, there will only be two more weeks of Yes/No before the 2009 fantasy season concludes!

While Josh Moen was duking it out with Abdi Abdirahman in the Medtronic TC 10 Mile earlier this month, he probably wasn't wasting a lot of effort thinking about what his breakthrough 10 mile performance was going to mean down the road at the New York City Marathon. He was trying to win a darn race, after all.

After his 46:38, runner-up finish to Abdirahman, however, it didn't take long for distance running fans to wonder what Moen's fast, gutsy performance would mean in the marathon. And, we're guessing, Mr. Moen started wondering about that, too, not that long after he crossed the finish line in St. Paul.

Now, it's time for DtB fantasy player to ponder the same question in this week's Yes/No contest ...

Yes/No: Will Josh Moen run faster than 2:14:30 at the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday?

Team USA Minnesota's Moen will toe the NYC starting line with PRs of 13:35 and 28:26 for 5000m and 10,000m, respectively. Along with his swift 10 mile earlier this month -- the 5th-fastest ever by an American -- he's also sports a 1:04:37 half-marathon PR. He's run one marathon in his career, a 2:23:16 at the rain-soaked 2008 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

You can read his Team USA Minnesota bio HERE.

Moen said recently: "I think New York will go very well. I'm not sure how well but it's going to be good. I want to run competitively to the end in the U.S. Championship."

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 8:30 A.M. CST, Sunday, November 1. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will continue to offer a bonus for participants making their debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for any first-time players.

DtB Fantasy Editor Doug Cowles' answer: No.

Last week’s Yes/No question was: Will UMD win the women’s team title at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Meet on Saturday? The correct answer, provided by 11 of our contestants, including season leader Doug Cowles, was No. Augustana topped UMD at the NSIC meet 38 to 57.

The top-10 scorers in Yes/No so far this year are:

Doug Cowles - 26
Chad Bjugan - 19
Mitch Van Bruggen - 18
Lori Anne Peterson - 18
Nate Porath - 17
Ryan Aylesworth - 17
Mick Hondo - 17
Benjamin Melby - 16
Toby Hatlevig - 15
Rich Cowles - 15

You can find all of DtB's contest results and leaderboards at DtB Fantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!

Round-Up: Team Circuit, Ekiden, Hall of Fame

Before we get completely swamped by high school sections, college conferences, and a little something called the ING New York City Marathon, here are some important news items that have accumulated over the past few days ...

Team Circuit Names Champions ... The USATF-Minnesota Team Circuit ended back in September, but official, final results were released only last week. Run N Fun won the open women's title for the fourth straight year, while TC Running Company earned its first-ever men's open title.

The RNF women outdistanced TCRC 65 points to 54 in the nine-race road running series. Foley & Mansfield was third with 53 points. F & M won the women's masters title, while the St. Cloud River Runners topped the women's grand masters category.

TCRC edged RNF 68 points to 67 to win the men's open title, ending RNF's two year reign as champions. Collegeville finished third with 55 points. TCRC swept the masters and grand master division of the Team Circuit as well.

Full standings can be found HERE, on the USATF-Minnesota web-site.

Cross Country Circuit On-Going ... The USATF-Minnesota Cross Country Circuit is well underway, with only the climatic USATF-Minnesota Championship on November 14 yet to be contested.

Collegeville leads the open women's division after four races, while Run N Fun leads the open men's division.

Full standings can be found HERE.

Armstrong, Carlson Make USA Ekiden Team ... Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Armstrong and former Golden Gopher star Andrew Carlson were named to the USA team for the International Chiba Ekiden in Chiba, Japan on November 23.

The relay race features mixed teams of men and women running six alternating legs totaling 42.195 kilometers. Team USA finished eighth in the event last year.

Read the full USA Track & Field media release HERE.

Mortenson's Team Named to Oregon Hall of Fame ... Bruce Mortenson, the St. Louis Park alum who won the 1965 NCAA Steeplechase title, entered the University of Oregon Hall of Fame recently as a member of 1965 Duck track team that tied USC for the NCAA title.

Pick Ten: Big Ten & MIAC Cross Country

Editor's Note: The 2009 "Fantasy Season" is drawing to a close! Today's Pick Ten contest will be the penultimate Pick Ten contest of the season. It's companion Yes/No contest will end the weekend before Thanksgiving with a question (or two?) on the NCAA Championships.

To get everyone in the spirit of the Fantasy season's climax, we'll present a double-header this weekend. Along with today's Pick Ten, we'll also present a Yes/No question tomorrow ... giving DtB fantasy players every chance to improve their standing -- or fall by the wayside! -- in the final weeks of the season.

Enjoy the fantasy madness ...

The collegiate cross country season is winding down and heating up. It is a conference meet Halloween weekend for the Big Ten and MIAC. The Gophers will travel to Penn State to run on Sunday morning while the MIAC follows tradition with a mid-afternoon Saturday competition at Como golf course in St. Paul.

The Pick Ten contest will challenge your predictive abilities for the two conference meets this weekend.

A refresher on Pick Ten rules: You're asked to predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes/teams in their respective conference races. You will score points for each athlete/team that scores at or above the finish place you predict for them. The rules change slightly for cross country as we will not use track and field scoring (10-8-6-5…) but will simply go 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for each place.

Remember though, if the athlete/team finishes below your predicted place, you receive zero points.

To play Pick Ten, cut and paste the list of names below into an e-mail and add your place predictions -- 1st, 2nd, 3rd ... or 10th. Send your predictions to DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com by 2:00 P.M. CDT on Saturday, October 31. Make sure your full name is in the e-mail. We'll announce the winner of this Pick Ten contest next week and update the running tally of Pick Ten scores from which we'll ultimately crown a grand champion.

The current overall top-5 in Pick Ten is:

Doug Cowles – 224
Charlie Mahler – 207
Mick Hondo - 206
Ryan Aylesworth - 202
Nate Porath - 196

The full leaderboard is HERE.

Pick Ten ... Big Ten/MIAC Conference Meets:

Megan Duwell (Gophers):
Hassan Mead (Gophers):
University of Minnesota Men:
University of Minnesota Women:
St. Thomas Women:
St. Olaf Men:
Alex Potter (Bethel):
Simone Childs-Walker (Carleton):
Brent Haglund (Augsberg):
Wade Eckstrom (Macalester):

To Help You Make Your Picks ... Here is some information on the athletes/teams we've included in the competition:

Hassan Mead and Megan Duwell are both All-Americans and Mead is the defending Big Ten Champ. Duwell finished 4th last year at Big Tens. The Gopher women are ranked #15 in the nation and won Big Tens in 2007 and 2008. They will be challenged by nationally ranked Illinois (#13), Penn State (#18), Michigan (#22), Iowa (#23) and Michigan State (#27). The Gopher men finished 3rd at the conference meet last year and have only recently fallen out of the national rankings. The men's favorites include #15 ranked Wisconsin and #18 ranked Indiana.

Find 2008 Big Ten results HERE.

The St. Thomas women and St. Olaf men will attempt to defend their 2008 MIAC team titles. On the women’s side, Bethel is ranked #14, Carleton #20 and St. Thomas #23. St. Thomas is the lone ranked men’s team in the conference – they are #22 in the nation.

Click the links for 2008 MIAC results for men and women.

Alex Potter and Simone Childs-Walker finished 2nd and 3rd at the conference meet to eventual National Champion and Bethel returnee Marie Borner in 2008. Brent Haglund was 7th and Wade Eckstrom was 10th at MIAC last year.

Good luck!

Moen, Lehmkuhle Face Strong NYC/USA Field

Team USA Minnesota stars Josh Moen and Jason Lehmkuhle face a powerful field at the USA Men's Marathon Championships held in conjunction with the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday.

Americans toeing the starting line on Staten Island for the race through the five boroughs of New York include Ryan Hall, who sports a ripping 2:06:17 PR, Meb Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, Abdi Abdirahman, a three-time Olympic 10,000 meter finalist who won his fourth USA 10 Mile title at the Medtronic TC 10 Mile earlier this month, 2008 Olympic marathoner Brian Sell, and marathon debutante Jorge Torres, a two-time USA 8K champion.

Headlining the international men's field are two-time NYC champion Martin Lel of Kenya, compatriot James Kwanbai, whose 2:04:27 PR is the third-fastest marathon ever run, and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, the Olympic marathon silver medalist in 2008.

Moen, who nearly won an upset victory over Abdirahman at the USA 10 Mile Championships running the 5th-fastest 10 mile ever by an American, is an intriguing prospect in the championship. He looks to improve mightily on his debut 2:23:16 marathon run in the cold rains of the 2008 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

"My training this year for the marathon has been different in that I've done more racing and actually done less work than in the past," Moen said in a Team USA Minnesota media release. "This has made my legs feel fresher and given me more of a pop in my stride. Jason and I have been doing the harder workouts together.

"I think New York will go very well," he added. "I'm not sure how well but it's going to be good. I want to run competitively to the end in the U.S. Championship. Jason has given me some insights from his experience at New York. I'm expecting Manhattan to be the point where I need to relax and not be fueled too much by the crowds as there will still be nine miles to go."

Lehkuhle should prove a sound mentor for the eager Moen. Lehkuhle ran his 2:12:54 PR in New York on the Central Park course used for the 2007 USA Men's Olympic Marathon Trials. Last year, he finished 8th at the NYC Marathon, on the storied five-borough course.

"This year's ING New York City Marathon is probably the deepest American field since the 2007 Olympic Marathon Trials and definitely the most competitive marathon field top to bottom that I have ever run in," Lehmkuhle said. "It's exciting to be part of. I think I can run in the 2:11 to 2:12 range in New York and I'm going to focus on that. The goal for me in a marathon this top-heavy is to run a smart race, finish well over the last four miles and, in the process, maybe run down a few guys who should beat me on paper."

"I've run four races this fall and they have all gone very well with new PR's at 20k and 10 miles," Lehmkuhle added. "These fast races are certainly a positive indicator, but, in my experience, good races at shorter distances are certainly no guarantee of marathon success. My training has been very good during this buildup. Generally, the marathon-specific workouts have been on par with my best ever."

Read USA Track & Field media release on the USA Championship field HERE.

Read biographies for members of the entire NYC professional field HERE (men) and HERE (women).

Rankings Steady as Section Competition Arrives

The top spots in the state's high school cross country rankings remained the same as prep harriers prepare for this week's Section competition.

While the pollsters think Eden Prairie and Perham are the top boys' and girls' teams in the state in Class AA and Class A respectively, competition will verify or refute the proposition in the next two weeks.

Likewise, for the top-ranked individuals in the state -- Aaron Bartnik of Eden Prairie and Maria Hauger of Shakopee in Class AA and Paul Koullick of Blake and Maddie McClellan of Perham in Class A -- it will be their legs deciding their final position, not a panel of coaches.

Find the date and location of this week's MSHSL Section meets HERE.

The State Meet, of course, takes place on November 7 at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

Find the complete Class AA rankings below.

Find the complete Class A rankings HERE.

Class AA Girls

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie (Section 6)
2 Shakopee (2)
3 Elk River (7)
4 Andover (5)
5 Lakeville South (1)
6 Prior Lake (3)
7 Roseville (4)
8 Hopkins (6)
9 Monticello (8)
10 Moorhead (8)
11 Lakeville North (1)
12 Wayzata (6)

Individuals:
1 Maria Hauger, 9, Shakopee
2 Emma Bates, 12, Elk River
3 Jamie Piepenburg, 10, Alexandria
4 Heidi Peterson, 11, Sartell
5 Megan Platner, 11, Eden Prairie
6 Abbi Asprengren, 11, Elk River
7 Erica Seidenkranz, 10, Monticello
8 Julia Harrison, 11, Mound Westonka
9 Carrie Donohue, 12, Kennedy
10 Nicole Heitzman, 9, Andover
11 Allison Cordes, 9, Roseville Area
12 Chrissy Monson, 9, Albert Lea


Class AA Boys

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie (Section 6)
2 Wayzata (6)
3 White Bear Lake (4)
4 Stillwater (4)
5 Edina (6)
6 Moorhead (8)
7 Burnsville (3)
8 Rosemount (3)
9 Lakeville North (1)
10 Eastview (3)
11 Totino Grace (5)
12 Willmar (2)

Also receiving consideration …
Owatonna (1), Redwing (1), St. Thomas Academy (3), St. Paul Central (4)
Andover (5), Osseo (5), Coon Rapids (5), Hopkins (6), Alexandria (8)

Individuals:
1 Aaron Bartnik, 11, Eden Prairie
2 Jake Sandry, 12, Bloomington Jefferson
3 Marty Joyce, 12, Woodbury
4 Chris Mueller, 12, Eden Prairie
5 Jon-Michael Brandt, 12, Winona
6 Adam Zutz, 11, St. Francis
7 Trent Lusignan, 11, Shakopee
8 Bryant Blahnik, 11, Redwing
9 Alex Johnson, 11, Maple Grove
10 Lukas Gemar, 11, Moorhead
11 Blayne Dulian, 12, Coon Rapids
12 Josh Thorson, 10, Wayzata

Also receiving consideration …
Landon Lozano,12, Wayzata; Oliver Haugland,12, Wayzata; Mohamed Mohamed,12, Eden Prairie; Andy Fenske,12, Park Center; Steven Dado,11, Totino Grace; Christian Skaret,11, Minnetonka; Ryan Nichols,12, Stillwater; Michael VanVoorhis,12, St. Paul Central; Micheal Tessema,12, Burnsville; Kemal Jarso,12, St. Paul Central; Joel Reichow,10, White Bear Lake

Garrett Heath Wins California Road Mile

Winona High School alum Garrett Heath won the Sports Basement Elite Mile in Lafayette, California yesterday.

Heath, who is currently serving as an assistant coach at his college alma mater Stanford, ran 4:08.3 to best Tim Bayley who ran 4:09.3 and Haron Lagat who clocked 4;09.4. Heath pocketed $500 for the victory.

Full results of the race are HERE.

There's a post-race interview with Heath HERE, thanks to Flotrack.

You can watch the entire race, above.

Place, Krajsa Defend NSIC Harrier Titles

Morgan Place and James Krajsa did all they could, but it wasn't enough to stop Augustana College (SD) from sweeping the women's and men's titles at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Bemidji.

Place, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota - Duluth, defended her women's individual title at the meet in 21:49, but her #12 Bulldogs had to settle for a runner-up finish to #10 Augustana 38-57. After Place, the Vikings beat UMD runner-for-runner to earn their second-straight NSIC women's crown.

The University of Mary (ND) finished 3rd with 81 points, Minnesota State - Mankato was 4th with 141, Minnesota State - Moorhead was 5th with 147.

Full women's team and individual results can be found HERE.

Krajsa, the defending NSIC men's champ, clocked 25:34 for the individual victory, but again Augustana proved too strong, topping the Mavericks 36-68. The Vikings put three runners -- including former Zumbrota-Mazeppa star Travis Beniak -- between Krajsa and Mankato's #2-runner to power their victory.

Moorhead was 3rd with 86 points, followed by St. Cloud State with 118 and UMD with 125.

Full men's team and individual results can be found HERE.

Will the UMD Women Win the NSIC?

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference kicks off the championship portion of the collegiate cross country season this weekend (the Big Ten, MIAC, and others will follow suit next weekend). The NSIC meet will be held on Saturday in Bemidji and features prohibitive favorites in 3 of the 4 contests.

In the individual races, Morgan Place of the University of Minnesota - Duluth and James Krasja of Minnesota State, Mankato finished in the top 10 in the nation in 2008 and return to defend their NSIC titles. In team competition, the Mankato men seem to be the team to beat. The defending conference champions placed 8th at Nationals in 2008 and return many of their top runners.

This week's Yes/No question, however, looks at the NSIC competition without a strong favorite: the women’s team battle between #10 in the nation Augustana and #12 UMD.

Yes/No: Will UMD win the women’s team title at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Meet on Saturday?

UMD and Augustana women have only competed against each other once and were separated by only seven points. At the Griak meet on September 26, UMD won with 78 points and Augustana finished 3rd with 85 points in the Maroon II race. In the 2008 NSIC Meet, these two teams dominated the front of the race with 8 of the top 9 individuals coming from Augustana or UMD. After the NSIC meet, the squads will move on to Regionals at Wayne State on November 7.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 11:00 A.M. CDT, Saturday, October 24th. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will continue to offer a bonus for participants making their debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for any first-time players.

My answer: No

Last week’s Yes/No question was: Will the top 5 Gophers women finish among the top 60 in the White Race at Pre-NCAA's on Saturday? The correct answer was Yes. Nikki Swenson was the fifth runner and ended up in 58th place (3/10s of second away from not finishing the top 60). Nine contestants answered correctly this week. Chad Bjugan moved into sole possession of 2nd place.

You can find all of DtB's contest results and leaderboards at DtB Fantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!

USATF-Minn Notes Moen, Nicolini Lehmkuhle

Josh Moen and Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle were named USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for October 2009, the organization announced recently.

Moen, a member of Team USA Minnesota, was honored for finishing second at the USA 10 Mile Championship held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile on October 4th. Moen fought a race-long battle with defending champion Abdi Abdirahman who edged Moen by three seconds at the finish. Abdirahman ran 46 minutes, 35 seconds for the distance; Moen ran 46:38.

Nicolini Lehmkuhle, also a Team USA Minnesota runner, was recognized for her third-place finish at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, which served as the USA Marathon Championship for women. Making her debut at the distance, the Villanova University graduate ran 2:35:06.

USA Track & Field Minnesota selects Athletes of the Month to honor excellence in track and field and its related sports in Minnesota. USA Track & Field is the governing body of the sport in the United States and the Minnesota Association of USATF sanctions and sponsors track and field, cross country, road racing, and racewalking events for athletes of all ages in the state.

Gopher XC: Good News and Bad News

There's good news and bad news today when it comes to University of Minnesota cross country.

Start with the good news, you say?

Mead Honored by Big Ten ... Gopher junior Hassan Mead was named the Big Ten Conference's Runner of the Week for his 5th-place performance in the White race at the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday.

The Minneapolis South alum clocked 23:50 over the 8000m course, which, in its 10,000m version, will host the NCAA Championships in November. He was the fastest runner from the conference at the competition.

The honor is Mead's fourth Runner of the Week award, one of which he earned earlier this season after his Griak Invitational victory.

Now for the bad news ...

Gophers Drop in Polls ... Both Golden Gopher teams took a hit in the NCAA Division I rankings after Pre-Nats.

The Gopher women fell seven places to #15 after their 6th-place finish in the White race at Pre-Nationals. The two-time defending Big Ten champions now find themselves looking up at Illinois, the top-ranked Big Ten and Midwest Regional team, currently ranked #13.

Penn State is ranked #18, Iowa State is ranked #19, Michigan is ranked #22, and Iowa is ranked #23, among conference and regional challengers.

Find the complete rankings HERE.

The news is a worse still for the Gopher men, who fell out of the national rankings of the top-30 teams in the country.

Pegged as the #30 team going into Pre-Nationals, the team's 11th-place finish at Pre-Nationals left them seven votes shy of the national cut-off -- their 20 points pegging them, essentially, at #31.

Big Ten rival Wisconsin are ranked #15; Indiana is ranked #18.

Perhaps of greatest concern to the team and coach Steve Plasencia is the squad's #5 ranking among Midwest Regional teams. The Gophers find themselves ranked behind #3 Oklahoma State, #20 Oklahoma, #23 Iowa State, and #29 Tulsa.

Two teams each from the nine NCAA D1 regionals automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. At-large teams are selected by committee to fill the remainder of the 31-team field.

Find the complete national rankings for men HERE.

The regional polls are HERE.

H.S. Polls: Steady As They Goes ...

Despite the opening of the conference championship season, the team and individual orders of the state's high school cross country polls remains largely unchanged this week.

Eden Prairie's boys and Perham's boys' and girls' squads still lord over Class AA and Class A, respectively.

(There wasn't a new poll for Class AA girls' teams and individuals this week.)

Individually, Aaron Bartnik of Eden Prairie still resides atop the Class AA individual poll, while Paul Koullick of Blake and Maddie McClellan of Perham top Class A.

Find the full Class AA boys polls below.

Find full Class A polls HERE.

Class AA Boys

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie (section 6)
2 Wayzata (6)
3 White Bear Lake (4)
4 Stillwater (4)
5 Edina (6)
6 Moorhead (8)
7 Burnsville (3)
8 Rosemount (3)
9 Lakeville North (1)
10 Eastview (3)
11 Totino Grace (5)
12 Willmar (2)

Also receiving consideration ...
Owatonna (1), Redwing (1), St. Thomas Academy (3), St. Paul Central (4), Andover (5), Osseo (5), Coon Rapids (5), Hopkins (6), Alexandria (8)

Individuals:
1 Aaron Bartnik, 11, Eden Prairie
2 Jake Sandry, 12, Bloomington Jefferson
3 Marty Joyce, 12, Woodbury
4 Chris Mueller, 12, Eden Prairie
5 Jon-Michael Brandt, 12, Winona
6 Adam Zutz, 11, St. Francis
7 Trent Lusignan, 11, Shakopee
8 Bryant Blahnik, 11, Redwing
9 Alex Johnson, 11, Maple Grove
10 Lukas Gemar, 11, Moorhead
11 Blayne Dulian, 12, Coon Rapids
12 Josh Thorson, 10, Wayzata

Also receiving consideration ...
Landon Lozano, Wayzata; Oliver Haugland, Wayzata; Mohamed Mohamed, Eden Prairie; Andy Fenske, Park Center; Steven Dado, Totino Grace; Christian Skaret, Minnetonka; Ryan Nichols, Stillwater; Michael VanVoorhis, St. Paul Central; Besufekad Shannon-Tamrat, Hopkins; Micheal Tessema, Burnsville; Kemal Jarso, St. Paul Central; Joel Reichow, White Bear Lake

Gophers Meet the Competition at Pre-Nats

The Golden Gopher cross country squads met the competition on Saturday.

At the annual Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana, hosted by NCAA Championships host Indiana State University, the #8-ranked Gopher women placed 6th in the "White" race, led by 3rd-place overall finisher Megan Duwell.

#1-ranked defending NCAA champions Washington won the White race with 59 points, the Gophers tallied 214.

The #30-ranked Gopher men finished 11th in the men's White race. Hassan Mead led the squad with a 5th place individual finish in the race. #1-ranked Stanford -- powered in part by Winona native Elliott Heath's 3rd place overall finish -- won the race with 47 points. The Gophers tallied 341.

The Gopher women needed to battle the frustrations of commercial air travel -- as well at the Pre-National competition -- at the event, arriving in Terre Haute around midnight the night before the race due to travel delays.

"I was pleased with the way our team was able to focus through adversity on this whole road trip," Gopher coach Gary Wilson said in a Gopher media release. "I think it’s going to one of those type of seasons where we are going to have to work very hard for everything we get."

"From a race standpoint," he added, "we got out a little too slow as a team. We continued to battle, but against this good of competition, any mistakes are magnified."

Behind Duwell, the Gophers were powered by Stephanie Prices' breakthrough 43rd place finish in 21:32.3, Elizabeth Yetzer who was 53rd in 21:40.2, Kayla Wagner 57th in 21:41.7, and Nikki Swenson, who placed 58th in 21:42.2.

The two-time defending Big Ten champion Gophers were edged 206 to 214 by Illinois in the race, foreshadowing a tight battle at the conference championships in two weeks. Big Ten rival Iowa and fellow Midwest Regional foe Iowa State ran well in the Blue race.

Team results for the Gopher women's race can be found HERE.

Individual results are HERE.

The Gopher men's coach Steve Plasencia was pleased but not elated with his team's results.

"We had a good, not great outing, today,” he said. “Our top four ran solid but we just need to move our fifth guy up. That gap between 90 and 162 is too big. It’s the difference. We have another runner up there in the mix and we would have a much better finish as a team."

Behind Mead, Ben Blankenship finished 24th in 24:11.2. Matt Barrett was 60th in 24:39.1, Pieter Gagnon placed 90th in 25:00.8, and Paul Hilsen finished 162nd in 25:51.3.

Team results for the Gopher men's race can be found HERE.

Individual results are HERE.

There's comprehensive coverage of the meet available HERE, thanks to Flotrack ... including video interviews with Hassan Mead, Elliott Heath, and Edina alum Alex Gits of Stanford.

The Pre-National Invitational in Photos

The Gophers' Megan Duwell (third from right) finished 3rd in the women's "White" race.

Winona native Elliott Heath finished 3rd in the men's "White" race for victorious, #1-ranked Stanford.

The Gophers' Hassan Mead (second from right) finished 5th in the "White" race.

Stephanie Price (839) leads the Gopher women's pack. The #8-ranked Gophers finished 6th in the "White" race.

Hopkins alum Dan Van Orsdel finished 137th in the "Blue" race.

Terry Hitchcock Featured in Book, Movie

Minnesota ultra runner tells tale of 75 in 75, 1996 marathon running odyssey Here.

Short-Cut: Results' Links for October 16-18

There's all kinds of action this weekend. Keep up with the results of it all below ...

Friday:
Cobber Invite: Women's Results * Men's Results
Update: Linda Keller of Minn.-Morris wins women's title.

Saturday:
D1 Pre-National Invitational: Results
Update: Gopher women 6th, Duwell 3rd; Heath 3rd, Mead 5th.
Drews/Neubauer Invitational: Results
Update: Augsburg is top-finishing MIAC men's team in 12th.
UW-Oshkosh Invitational: Results
Update: Greeno wins men's title; Borner 2nd, Place 3rd in women's race.
Running of the Cows: Women's Results * Men's Results
Update: Carleton women, Childs-Walker win.
Run for Oromia: 5K Results * 10K Results
Update: Josh Moen wins 5K in 14:13.

How Will the Gopher Women Fare?

On Saturday, the Gophers cross country teams will face impressive competition at the Pre-NCAA meet at Indiana State. The meet's two women's races will feature 19 nationally-ranked teams, while the two men's races will feature 20. The Gophers Men and Women, ranked #30 and #8, respectively, will both be competing in the "White" races.

Saturday's races, held on the same course where the top teams will run the NCAA Division I Championships in November, will go a long way towards establishing a national pecking order for 2009.

This week we will focus on the Gopher women and specifically their depth at Pre-NCAAs. As befitting a top 10 team, the Gophers boast the requisite front-runner (Megan Duwell) as well as a strong chase pack. The Gophers placed 6 runners in the top 15 at the Griak Meet. So we want you to let us know how the Gopher women will fare on an even bigger stage this week:

Yes/No: Will the top 5 Gophers women finish among the top 60 in the White Race at Pre-NCAA's on Saturday?

The Gopher expect the following to make up their varsity at pre-NCAAs:

-- Heather Dorniden (Sr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Rosemount): The middle distance superstar finished 81st at the 2008 Pre-NCAA Meet.

-- Megan Duwell (Sr., West Bend, Wis./West Bend West): In 2008, Duwell finished 18th at this meet and ended the year as an All-American.

-- Amy Laskowske (Sr., Palatine, Ill./Palatine): The 2009 10000 Meter All-American finished 52nd at Pre-NCAA's in 2008.

-- Nikki Swenson (Jr., Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd): Swenson is a 2:07 800 meter runner and ran in the open race at Pre-NCAA's last year. Swenson was the #2 runner for the Gophers at the Griak meet.

-- Mallory Van Ness (Sr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View/Missouri): Van Ness finished 46th at the Pre-NCAA's in 2008.

-- Elizabeth Yetzer (Sr., Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North): The 4:18 1500 meter runner has finished as high as 24th at the Pre-NCAA meet (2007).

-- Kayla Wagner (Fr., Baldwin, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville): The first-year star finished 13th at the Griak Meet.

2008 Pre-NCAA results are HERE.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 11:00 A.M. CDT, Saturday, October 17th. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will continue to offer a bonus for participants making their debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for any first-time players.

My answer: Yes

Last week’s Yes/No question was: Will Andrew Carlson run faster than 1:03:30 at the World Half Marathon Championships on Sunday? The correct answer was “yes” as Carlson ran 1:02:50 for 20th place. Fourteen contestants answered correctly and Chad Bjugan moved into a tie for second place in the 2009 Yes/No standings.

You can find all of DtB's contest results and leaderboards at DtB Fantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!

Gophers' Wilson Covets New Home Course

Golden Gopher women's cross country coach Gary Wilson is looking for a nice piece of land. But, he's not thinking about a place to build a retirement home after his coaching days at the U of M are over.

Wilson wants to build a dedicated cross country course for the Golden Gophers, a venue he pictures would be "a home of their own" for all of the state's harriers -- from preps to post-collegians.

Last week, Wilson blasted a e-mail to alumni and friends of his program asking for help finding land for such a course. Wilson hankers for a parcel that would: be within 25 miles of the University, include an area at last 800 meters by 800 meters square, be free of pavement, offer parking nearby or within shuttle distance of the course, and be donated or leased land costing the University very little.

Wilson notes that nearby Iowa, Iowa State, and Wisconsin all have dedicated courses. When Wilson's #8-ranked Gophers compete in the Pre-NCAA meet in Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend, they will race on a cross country-only course as well.

"What I would like is to find a section of someone's farm that could be donated and the we could work on as we please," Wilson told DtB. "Iowa and Wisconsin both have their own course and both of these were donated land."

"With the Griak being one of the best, if not the best cross country race in the nation, it would be awesome for us to host on our own dedicated cross country course," Wilson added. "A course that we could build into a national showcase course."

Wilson's hunt for land isn't driven by problems with the Gophers' current home course, the Les Bolstad Gold Course.

"There are no real drawbacks to Bolstad," Wilson admitted. The golf course people have been awesome to us. We have a wonderful relationship with them and we hope it continues. The only reason I want to look into our own course is that fact that so many Upper Midwest teams have their own."

Having a dedicated course, Wilson noted, would allow for a permanent finish area, a press box, and on-site storage.

"I simply feel that it would be wonderful for us to have our own cross country course that not only could we use but could be used by other colleges and high school teams," Wilson continued. "Sort of a premier state course!"

Wilson noted that the University-owned UMore Park near Rosemount is "a possibility" as the site of a course as well.

Wilson says last week's e-mail has already offered some leads.

"There seems to be a lot of interest in the idea."

Pre-Nationals ... Wilson's Gopher women and Steve Plasencia's #30-ranked Gopher men will both compete at the Pre-National Invitational hosted by Indiana State on Saturday.

The Gopher sports media folks have released THIS preview for the women and THIS one for the men.

Race assignments for the contest can be fond HERE.

The latest NCAA Division I rankings are HERE (women) and HERE (men).

Moen to Race at Saturday's Run for Oromia

Josh Moen will try to burn up the streets of the Twin Cities one more time.

The Team USA Minnesota star, who ran the 5th-fastest 10 mile time in U.S. history at the Medtronic TC 10 Mile two weekend's ago, will compete in the Run for Oromia 10K 5K on Saturday at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.

Moen (pictured) clocked 46:38 at the TC 10, which served as the USA Championship for the distance, finishing second to four-time USA 10 Mile titleist Abdi Abdirahman who clocked 46:35.

According to the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, only Greg Meyer (46;13), Thom Hunt (46:15), and Bill Reifsnyder (46:32) top Abdirahman and Moen on the U.S. list for the event. (The ARRS's not-yet-updated U.S. 10 Mile list is HERE.)

Earlier in the fall, Moen was the runaway winner of the Victory 10K in 29:30.

The Run for Oromia 5K will serve as the 27-year-old Iowa native's final competitive preparation for the ING New York City Marathon on November 1, a race that will serve as the USA Men's Marathon Championships.

Last year, the Run for Oromia gathered a remarkably strong field. (We wrote about it HERE.) Race director Mary Anderson doesn't expect the same depth among the elites this year, however, since the event's prize purse has been reduced.

In 2008, 10K champion Tadesse Tola of Ethiopia earned $5000 for his 28:21 victory, the fastest road 10K ever clocked in Minnesota. On Saturday, the 10K winners will pocket checks worth $1000, while the 5K champs will take home $500 each.

You can also read the RW online chat with Josh HERE.

Photo by Gene Niemi.

New Individuals Tops Class AA Polls

As Minnesota's high school cross country teams point to conference competition this week, two new names top the Class AA individual polls, while the top teams in the state -- according to the pollsters, anyway - remain the same.

In the updated polls released yesterday, Eden Prairie junior Aaron Bartnik and Shakopee ninth-grader Maria Hauger occupy the #1 spot in the rankings. Last week's #1s -- Adam Zutz of St. Francis and Jamie Piepenburg of Alexandria -- both suffered defeats during the last seven days.

Eden Prairie still tops both Class AA team rankings. Perham does likewise in Class A.

The top-ranked Class A individuals remains unchanged as well -- Paul Koullick of Blake tops the boys, Maddie McClellan of Perham tops the girls.

Find the Class A rankings HERE.

Find the Class AA rankings below ...

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie
2 Wayzata
3 White Bear Lake
4 Stillwater
5 Edina
6 Moorhead
7 Burnsville
8 Lakeville North
9 Rosemount
10 Eastview
11 Totino Grace
12 Willmar

Individuals
1 Aaron Bartnik, 11, Eden Prairie
2 Jake Sandry, 12, Bloomington Jefferson
3 Marty Joyce, 12, Woodbury
4 Chris Mueller, 12, Eden Prairie
5 Jon-Michael Brandt, 12, Winona
6 Adam Zutz, 11, St. Francis
7 Trent Lusignan, 11, Shakopee
8 Bryant Blahnik, 11, Redwing
9 Alex Johnson, 11, Maple Grove
10 Lukas Gemar, 11, Moorhead
11 Blayne Dulian, 12, Coon Rapids
12 Landon Lozano, 12, Wayzata

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie
2 Andover
3 Shakopee
4 Lakeville South
5 Prior Lake
6 Roseville
7 Elk River
8 Hopkins
9 Wayzata
10 Moorhead
11 Minnetonka
12 Rosemount

Individuals:
1 Maria Hauger, 9, Shakopee
2 Cassidy Soli, 9, Champlin Park
3 Heidi Peterson, 11, Sartell
4 Jamie Piepenburg, 10, Alexandria
5 Emma Bates, 12, Elk River
6 Abbi Asprengren, 11, Elk River
7 Megan Platner, 11, Eden Prairie
8 Sharmila Amed, 11, Burnsville
9 Erica Seidenkranz, 10, Monticello
10 Julia Harrison, 11, Mound Westonka
11 Carrie Donohue, 12, Kennedy
12 Hannah Kellerman, 12, Sartell

Tollefson Pregnant; Expecting Child in April

Carrie Tollefson has something other than workouts and races to look forward to in the coming months.

The 2004 Olympian is pregnant, and, along with her husband Charlie Peterson, expecting her first child in April.

What had been a semi-open secret in the Minnesota running community for the last few weeks became public in THIS Runner's World Online interview Tollefson.

Tollefson told RW's Peter Gambaccini:

"I said to Charlie 'you know, I feel like I've been trying to play God with my life for three years. And it's not quite working out the way I wanted it to.' I said 'maybe we just need to see what's in His plan and go for it.' And the next month, we found out that his plan was right on and it didn't take us any time (to get pregnant). I thought it would take six months, maybe eight, but we were thrilled to hear that we were pregnant."

The happy news doesn't mean the Team USA Minnesota star is retiring from competition. Tollefson notes that her April 2010 due date should allow her to bet back on the roads by the fall of that year. Making the 2011 World Championships -- ahead of the 2012 Olympics -- would be Tollefson's goal on the track in the following years.

Photo by Victor Sailor/Photo Run.

Short Cut: Results' Links for October 10-12

Keep up with results from all the weekend's action here ...

Saturday:
St. Kate's Quad: Women's Results * Men's Results
Update: Luther women, Tommie men win; Hamline's Branigan, Bauer medalists.

MSU-Mankato Invite: Results
Update: Lang, Krajsa win individual titles.

Wartburg Dan Huston Invite: Women's Results * Men's Results
Update: Carleton women 3rd w/o Childs-Walker; Carleton men 4th.

UW-Parkside Lucien Rosa Invite: Results
Update: Augsburg men second; Haglund 3rd overall.

Sunday:
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships: Results
Update: Carlson 20th in 1:02:50; USA men 4th in team competition.

Monday:
USA Women's 10K Championships: Team USA Minn Preview * Results
Update: McGregor 6th in 32:44, Armstrong 17th in 33:58

Photo by Gene Niemi: Brian Sames (left), Ian Bauer (center), and Ben Sathre (right) at the St. Kate's Quad.

Will Carlson Break 1:03:30 at the World Half?

The United States is sending a strong contingent to Birmingham, UK for the World Half Marathon Championship on Sunday. Dathan Ritzenhein leads the way as a formidable contender following his American record at 5k and unofficial U.S. record time for 10 mile during a workout. The other male U.S. team members include: Brett Gotcher, Scott Bauhs, Andrew Carlson and James Carney

The Minnesota link to this group, of course, is Andrew Carlson, the former University of Minnesota Gopher stand-out. While Ritz got the headlines, Carlson has had a solid year in his own right. We want you to let us know how well you think Carlson will run in Birmingham:

Yes/No: Will Andrew Carlson run faster than 1:03:30 at the World Half Marathon Championships on Sunday?

Andrew Carlson recently finished 4th at the U.S. 20K Championships. Carlson running 59:26 to finish right behind former Team USA Minnesota teammate Jason Lehmkuhle. Carlson also ran 1:02:21 to finish 4th in the U.S. 1/2 Marathon Championship back in January.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 11:59 P.M. CDT, Saturday, October 10th. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will continue to offer a bonus for participants making their debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for any first-time players.

My answer: Yes

Last week’s Yes/No question was: Will more than 40 runners in the USA 10 Mile Championship run faster than 52:01, Charlie Mahler's winning time of the first TC 10 Mile in 1999? The correct answer was “no” as only 31 runners finished under 52 minutes. 14 contestants answered correctly this week.

You can find the all of DtB's contest results and leaderboards at DtB Fantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!

TCM Highlight Show Tonight on FSN

Olympian Carrie Tollefson and, yours truly, DtB editor/publisher Charlie Mahler will host tonight's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Race Weekend Highlight Show.

The show will air at 7:00 p.m. tonight on Fox Sports North.

I haven't seen the final cut, but Carrie and I talked with Jason Hartmann and Ilsa Paulson, the men's and women's marathon winners, as well as Abdi Abdirahman and Josh Moen who waged a stirring battle for the USA title in the TC 10 Mile.

There should be race footage as well. And, you can also expect features on Team USA Minnesota and a package on TCM's storied 28-year history.

TCM Changes Name, but Keeps Initials; Adds Summer Half-Marathon to Line-Up

Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. has changed its name to Twin Cities In Motion.

The non-profit entity that organizes the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and its related events, says the name change better reflects the full scope of its activities. Twin Cities in Motion's tagline is “Plan. Organize. Manage. Run.”

“The running community recognizes the importance of quality running events, and the history of our brand promises to deliver a top notch experience at any distance,” Twin Cities in Motion executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said in a media release. “The name Twin Cities Marathon has dually represented our world class running event and the group of dedicated staff and volunteers who have made each marathon spectacular for the past 28 years."

"Over this time, the organization behind the event has changed," she continued. "We’ve grown in size, added new events, and built a solid reputation as fitness event planners. Our new name is a positive reflection of our past and a foundation for our future, as we continue to serve our community by promoting health and fitness through the inspiration and achievements of people of all ages and abilities."

Read the full media release HERE.

New Half Marathon ... In a separate announcement, TCM announced that it will host an inaugural half marathon event -- the "Red, White, and Boom TC Half Marathon" -- on July 4, 2010.

The event was created to meet the growing interest in that distance and to offer runners a major event that can be included in holiday weekend plans surrounding July 4th, the organization said.

A four-mile race as well as kids events, will be part of the event, allowing walkers and runners of all ages and abilities to join in the festivities. The half-marathon is planned for the Minneapolis area surrounding Boom Island.

Read the full media release HERE.

Gopher Teams #8 and #30 in Latest Polls

The University of Minnesota women's cross country team rose one place to #8 in the latest NCAA Division I rankings, while the Golden Gopher men dropped one spot to #30 in the poll.

You can find the the full national rankings, released yesterday, HERE (women) and HERE (men).

The defending champion University of Washington Huskies lead the women's poll. Stanford Univeristy, where Winona High School graduate Elliott Heath competes and where his older brother Garrett is an assistant coach, tops the men's poll.

The Gopher women are the #2-ranked team in the Midwest Regional, behind Griak Invitational champions Iowa State. The Gopher men are ranked #4 in the Midwest behind, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma.

Winner's at SDSU ... The Gopher women raced at the SDSU Classic in Brookings, South Dakota last weekend. Minnesota, competing for the fourth time this season, topped Kansas State 24-50. North Dakota State tallied 112 in the 10-team meet.

Megan Duwell led the team with the 2nd place finish in the race, behind K-State's Beverly Ramos.

Results of the meet are HERE.

The Gopher men, who've raced only once as a full varsity squad, were idle last week. Both Gopher teams will race again on October 17 at the Pre-NCAA meet in Terre Haute, Indiana.