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.
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.
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
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' Poll | Women's Preseason Coaches' Poll | |||||
| 1 | Augustana (12) | 144 | 1 | Augustana (13) | 195 | |
| 2 | Minnesota State (1) | 125 | 2 | University of Mary (2) | 166 | |
| 3 | Sioux Falls | 122 | 3 | Winona State | 161 | |
| 4 | University of Mary | 99 | 4 | Minnesota Duluth | 158 | |
| Minnesota Duluth | 99 | 5 | Minnesota State | 156 | ||
| 6 | MSU Moorhead | 91 | 6 | Sioux Falls | 127 | |
| 7 | St. Cloud State | 86 | 7 | MSU Moorhead | 114 | |
| 8 | Northern State | 60 | 8 | St. Cloud State | 107 | |
| 9 | Winona State | 53 | 9 | Northern State | 88 | |
| 10 | Minot State | 42 | 10 | Minot State | 66 | |
| 11 | Wayne State | 35 | 11 | Bemidji State | 62 | |
| 12 | Concordia-St. Paul | 33 | 12 | Concordia-St. Paul | 55 | |
| 13 | Southwest Minnesota State | 25 | 13 | Southwest Minnesota State | 53 | |
| first place votes in ( ) | 14 | Wayne State | 47 | |||
| 15 | Upper Iowa University | 20 |
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 Yak | Sr. | Storm Lake, Iowa |
| Runa Falch | Sr. | Steinkjer, Norway |
| Bemidji State | ||
| Emily Turner | So. | Bringham Lake, Minn. |
| Concordia-St. Paul | ||
| Joshua Smith | So. | Ashland, Wis. |
| Anna Schield | Jr. | Two Harbors, Minn. |
| University of Mary | ||
| Taylor Thompson | Sr. | Williston, ND |
| Jennifer Agnew | Sr. | Onamia, Minn. |
| Minnesota Duluth | ||
| Dan Nielsen | Jr. | Andover, Minn. |
| Kaelyn Williams | So. | Golden Valley, Minn. |
| Minnesota State | ||
| Devin Allbaugh | Sr. | Bettendorf, Iowa |
| Emily Knapczyk | So. | Plymouth, Minn. |
| MSU Moorhead | ||
| Cody Christ | So. | Dazey, ND |
| Molly Montonye | So. | Graceville, Minn. |
| Minot State | ||
| Joel Cartwright | So. | Great Falls, Mont. |
| Kara Kuntz | Jr. | Voltaire, ND |
| Northern State | ||
| Jake Arechigo | Sr. | Sioux Falls, SD |
| Whitney Kuyper | Jr. | Stickney, SD |
| Sioux Falls | ||
| Billy Brockmueller | Jr. | Brandon, SD |
| Sierra Harder | Sr. | Mountain Lake, Minn. |
| Southwest Minnesota State | ||
| Alex Solheim | So. | Slayton, Minn. |
| Tatum Larson | So. | Canton, SD |
| St. Cloud State | ||
| Gemechu Bekelcho | So. | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Kassie Vaness | Sr. | Oxford, Wis. |
| Upper Iowa | ||
| Courtney Fullmer | Jr. | Buford, Ga. |
| Wayne State | ||
| Greg Tracy | Sr. | Omaha, Neb. |
| Skyler Lippman | Sr. | Pierce, Neb. |
| Winona State | ||
| Billy Eifert | Jr. | Cambridge, Minn. |
| Jessica Young | Jr. | Winona, Minn. |
No comments:
Post a Comment