Friday, August 23, 2013

2013 NSIC Pre-season XC Rankings

Augustana College men and women's cross country teams topped in the 2013 NSIC Cross Country Pre-season Rankings voted on by the conference coaches. The Vikings will boast both NSIC Preseason Athletes of the Year in Paul Yak and Runa Falch.  Yak is the two-time defending NSIC Cross Country Champions, while Falch won the NSIC Championship in 2010 & 2011 and finished in third last season. Augustana men have won the last four NSIC Cross Country Championships, while the women are five-time defending champions, including winning the 2011 NCAA DII National Championship and finished second in 2012.

On the men's side, Augustana received the max of 12 first place votes (coaches cannot vote for own school) and tallied 144 points, 19 points ahead of Minnesota State Mankato, who had 125 points and the other first place vote.  Sioux Falls (122) was third followed by the University of Mary and Minnesota Duluth (99), which tied for fourth.

On the women's side, Augustana garnered 13 top votes as they amassed 195 points. The University of Mary came in second with 166 points and the other two first place votes.  Winona State was third with 161 points followed by Minnesota Duluth in fourth with 158 points. Minnesota State Mankato came in fifth with 156 points.

Men's Preseason Coaches' PollWomen's Preseason Coaches' Poll
1Augustana (12)1441Augustana (13)195
2Minnesota State (1)1252University of Mary (2)166
3Sioux Falls1223Winona State 161
4University of Mary994Minnesota Duluth158
Minnesota Duluth995Minnesota State 156
6MSU Moorhead916Sioux Falls127
7St. Cloud State 867MSU Moorhead114
8Northern State 608St. Cloud State 107
9Winona State 539Northern State 88
10Minot State 4210Minot State 66
11Wayne State 3511Bemidji State 62
12Concordia-St. Paul3312Concordia-St. Paul55
13Southwest Minnesota State2513Southwest Minnesota State 53
 first place votes in ( )14Wayne State 47
15Upper Iowa University20

AC_Yak_Paul
For the second straight season, Augustana's Paul Yak has been picked by the league coaches as the NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year. Yak is the two-time defending NSIC Men's Cross Country Champion and NSIC Athlete of the Year.  He finished seventh at the NCAA Central Region meet to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors.  Two years ago, Yak earned All-American honors after finishing 11th at the NCAA DII Championship.


AC_Falch_Runa
For the third consecutive year, Augustana's Runa Falch has been selected as the NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year. Falch won the 2010 & 2011 NSIC Cross Country Championships before finishing third last year.  But Falch rebounded to win the 2012 NCAA Central Region title and finish eighth in the nation to earn All-American Honors for the third straight year.

The NSIC Women's Cross Country field has expanded once again in 2013 with the addition Upper Iowa, to amass a total of 15 women's teams and 13 men's teams.

NSIC Cross Country teams will compete in various meets throughout the fall with the season culminating in Sioux Falls, SD on Saturday, October 26th at the NSIC Cross Country Championships.  The NCAA Regional will take place two weeks later on Saturday, November 9th in again at Yankton Trails in Sioux Falls, SD The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will be held at Plants Ferry Athletic Complex in Spokane, Washington on November 23, 2013.

2013 NSIC Cross Country Athletes to Watch

Augustana
Paul YakSr.Storm Lake, Iowa
Runa FalchSr.Steinkjer, Norway
Bemidji State
Emily TurnerSo.Bringham Lake, Minn.
Concordia-St. Paul
Joshua SmithSo.Ashland, Wis.
Anna SchieldJr.Two Harbors, Minn.
University of Mary
Taylor Thompson   Sr.Williston, ND
Jennifer AgnewSr.Onamia, Minn.
Minnesota Duluth
Dan NielsenJr. Andover, Minn.
Kaelyn WilliamsSo.Golden Valley, Minn.
Minnesota State
Devin AllbaughSr.Bettendorf, Iowa 
Emily KnapczykSo.Plymouth, Minn.  
MSU Moorhead
Cody ChristSo.Dazey, ND
Molly MontonyeSo.Graceville, Minn.
Minot State
Joel Cartwright So.Great Falls, Mont.
Kara KuntzJr.Voltaire, ND 
Northern State
Jake ArechigoSr.Sioux Falls, SD
Whitney KuyperJr.Stickney, SD
Sioux Falls
Billy BrockmuellerJr.Brandon, SD 
Sierra HarderSr.Mountain Lake, Minn.
Southwest Minnesota State
Alex SolheimSo. Slayton, Minn.
Tatum LarsonSo.Canton, SD
St. Cloud State
Gemechu BekelchoSo.Minneapolis, Minn.
Kassie Vaness Sr. Oxford, Wis. 
Upper Iowa
Courtney FullmerJr.Buford, Ga.
Wayne State
Greg TracySr.Omaha, Neb.
Skyler LippmanSr.Pierce, Neb.
Winona State
Billy Eifert Jr.Cambridge, Minn.
Jessica Young Jr.Winona, Minn. 

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