Winona State Women Second, U-Mary Third in NCAA DII Regional Champs; Mankato Men Third

Winona State finished second and U Mary third in the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships on Saturday giving both teams a spot in the National Championship meet.  The Minnesota State Mankato men placed third to also qualify for the NCAA Championships set for November 17 in Joplin,  Missouri.

Augustana’s men and women swept the Region championships, each placing their top five  runners in the top 12. This marks the first region title for the defending national champion women’s team and the second for the men. Augustana’s men last won the region title in 1991.  The Augustana men, ranked fifth in the country, scored 31 points while the women, ranked first in the nation, had 28. Winona State finished with 108 points, U Mary 149.

Other Minnesota teams were: Women: Minnesota State Mankato(seventh/193), University of Minnesota Duluth(eighth/222), MSU-Moorhead(18th/446), Bemidji State(23rd/719), and SW Minnesota State(26th/814).  The St. Cloud State women had only two finishers in the 6K race: Kassandra Vaness(23rd/ 22:05.25) and  Nichelle Rubash(34th/22:24.57).  Concordia-St Paul had four finishers: Anna Schield(109/23:40.6), Maggie Marcus(126/24:13),  MaKenna Hofer(128/24:14.08), and Erica Young(164/25:48.99)Men: UMD(12th/314), MSU-Moorhead(13th/322), U-Mary(15th/341), Winona State(16th/444), and Concordia-St. Paul(22nd/662). The St. Cloud State men did not have a full team, just three individuals in the 10K race: Gemechu Bekelcho(16th/30:50.47), Mahdi Koliso(21st/30:56.51), and Jared Hicks(109/33:16.41). SW Minnesota State also had only three finishers: Jack Derham(158/36:38.77), Demond Carter(160(36:47.21), and Andrew Feucht(161/38:19.37).