Stuffing Wins Tight Thanksgiving Battle; Pumpkin Pie, Mashed Potatoes Tie for 2nd

Defending champion Stuffing edged Pumpkin Pie and Mashed Potatoes to win its second straight DtB Thanksgiving Poll championship today.

Stuffing, ranked #1 entering the four-day competition, earned 33% of the readers' votes.

Pumpkin Pie and Mashed Potatoes battled the defending champs throughout the competition, but ultimately tied for second with 29%. (As in collegiate cross country, ties in Thanksgiving Poll voting remain ties.)

2007 runner-up Turkey, though synonymous with the late-November holiday, finished 4th with 25%.

"I'm proud of the way we competed," Stuffing coach David Gates told DtB. "We won by a larger margin last year, but you never know how things will turn out in a tough competition like this one. A victory is a victory."

The bready side-dish tallied 52% of the vote en route to their 2007 title.

"The credit goes to the team," Gates added. "They're the ones who dressed for the competition. It's not like I gave them any sage advice that won it for them."

Gravy, which some observers thought might crack the top-3 this year, finished a distant 5th with 13%; Cranberries finished 6th with 12%. The two sides flip-flopped places from a year ago.

The 2009 DtB Thanksgiving Poll is scheduled to begin on November 27.

Happy Thanksgiving from DtB!

Gobble gobble, track and cross country fans!

We're going to take the long holiday weekend off here at the Down the Backstretch, just like we did at this time last year.

We're also going to re-run our Thanksgiving readers' poll: What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?

(Find the poll on our sidebar.)

Defending champion (and #1-ranked) Stuffing is the food to beat again 2008. Last year's runner-up, Turkey, ranked #2, looks strong again this year and #4 Mashed Potatoes and #5 Pumpkin Pie can't be counted out.

We think underrated (and un-ranked) Gravy is primed for a break-out performance in 2008, but #6 Cranberries, we're afraid, will do well to finish in the top half of the field this year.

#3-ranked Apple Pie, of course, did not qualify for the Thanksgiving Poll, failing to advance from the perennially-strong Pie Sectional.

So vote in our poll ... enjoy your Thanksgiving ... and join us again on Monday!

Gobble! Gobble!

Ashley Nord Earns Rhodes Scholarship

Quoting from the Gopher media release ...

"Ashley Nord cleared 13 feet as a pole vaulter for the Minnesota women’s track & field team last spring. Over the weekend, the Rapid City, S.D. native vaulted into an elite category accomplished by only the best and brightest scholars in the world.

Nord received word that she was chosen as a Rhodes Scholar, one of just 32 chosen in the U.S. this year. Nord graduated with a degree in astrophysics last May and is completing two more degrees in physics and global studies this fall. She will pursue a doctorate in physics at Oxford University in England.

In her pole vaulting career with the Golden Gophers, Nord was a member of three Big Ten championship teams and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Region Championships in 2007 and 2008. The four-time varsity letterwinner finished her career ranked fourth in the event in both the indoor and outdoor Minnesota record book."

Find the media release from the Rhodes Trust HERE.

Read today's Star-Tribune story by Rachel Blount about Nord HERE.

Read a Gopher Sports feature story on Nord HERE.

Photo of Nord courtesy of the U of M.

NCAA Wrap-Up: Minnesotans at the Show

Before we put the NCAA meets behind us and prepare for the holiday weekend, we thought we'd post a listing of all the Minnesotans who competed at yesterday's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Let us know if we've missed anyone ...

Women:
Megan Duwell, Minnesota, 32nd in 20:36
Hanna Grinaker, Wisconsin, 44th in 20:44
Gabriele Anderson, Minnesota, 49th in 20:48
Megan Brandeland, Princeton, 52nd in 20:50
Amy Laskowske, Minnesota, 94th in 21:10
Mallory Van Ness, Minnesota, 116th in 21:19
Heather Dorniden, Minnesota, 135th in 21:28
Jamie Cheever, Minnesota, 164th in 21:41
Sarah Price, Michigan State, 171st in 21:45
Bria Wetsch, Oregon, 184th in 21:50
Felicitas Mensing, Minnesota, 236th in 22:37

Men:
Chris Rombough, Minnesota, 17th in 29:54
Hassan Mead, Minnesota, 31st in 30:06
Garrett Heath, Stanford, 33rd in 30:08
Ben Blankenship, Minnesota. 100th in 30:55
Elliott Heath, Stanford, 112th in 31:00
Michael Krish, Georgetown, 117th in 31:02
Matt Barrett, Minnesota, 160th in 31:23
Mike McFarland, Minnesota, 171st in 31:27
Tom Burke, William and Mary, 195th in 31:45
Ben Puhl, Minnesota, 214th in 32:00
Mike Torchia, Minnesota, 231st in 32:25

Rombough 17th; Gopher Men 15th at NCAAs

Golden Gopher senior Chris Rombough finished 17th at the NCAA Championships today, becoming the Gopher's first-ever three-time All-American in cross country. Rombough was the top Minnesotan, finishing in 29:54.

Hear our exclusive interview with Rombough below ...



“I’m proud of Chris,” Gopher head coach Steve Plasencia said in a media release. “He’s a strong runner who loves cross country. He kept pounding away, moving up through the field. We are going to miss him.”

Hassan Mead of Minnesota placed 31st in 30:06 and Winona High School alum Garrett Heath of Stanford placed 33rd in 30:08. Both were named all-American.

“Hassan fought back but he didn’t have a good day,” Plasencia said.

The University of Minnesota men finished 15th in the team standings with 385 points.

Behind Rombough and Mead, Ben Blankenship finished 100th, Matt Barrett was 160th, Mike McFarland was 171st, Ben Puhl was 214th, and Mike Torchia was 231st.

“Overall we had a mediocre performance today," Plasencia said of the team performance. "We didn’t have a lot of zip. I’m thinking that running on that very difficult course at the regional meet may have taken a lot out of us. We didn’t start the race well and that left too much to make up. I guess it says something, though, when we aren’t necessarily pleased with a 15th-place finish at the NCAAs. We had higher hopes, higher expectations, but we just didn’t have the depth to pull it off.”

Hear our interview with Plasencia below ...



The pre-race favorite Oregon Ducks won the team title, led by individual champion Galen Rupp. Stanford, powered by Garrett Heath and his younger brother Elliott, who finished 112th, placed 3rd in the meet.

Find full team results HERE, individual results HERE.

Gopher Women Tie for 11th at Nationals

The University of Minnesota women's cross counry team finished in a tie for 11th at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana today.

The #6-ranked Golden Gophers tied with Michigan State at 336 points.

"“We ran a good team race today, though obviously we wanted to finish higher,” Gopher coach Gary Wilson said. “Strategically I thought we ran one of our best races of the year but a few teams like Stanford, Georgetown and Texas Tech had really, really good days. I am excited about extending that top-12 streak. I don’t think anyone realizes how difficult that is and what a great accomplishment for our program it is.”

Wilson talked to DtB about the meet and his team below ...



Junior Megan Duwell led the Gopher with a 32nd place, 20:36 performance over the 6K course, earning her all-American honors.

The Gophers only senior Gabriele Anderson was 49th in 20:48, junior Amy Laskowske was 94th in 21:10, junior Mallory Van Ness was 116th in 21:19, junior Heather Dorniden was 135th in 21:28, junior Jamie Cheever, an all-American last year, was 164 in 21:41, and grad student Felicitas Mensing finished 236th in 22:37.

The University of Washington women, the prohibitive pre-meet favorites took the team title with 79 points. Sally Kpiyego of Texas Tech became the first woman in NCAA history to win three cross country titles with her victory today.

Find full team results HERE, individual results HERE.

Top-8 Finish is Gopher Women’s Goal

Although a rival coach at today’s NCAA media conference indirectly suggested trophy potential for the #6-ranked University of Minnesota’s women’s cross country team at today’s Division I Cross Country Championships, Gopher coach Gary Wilson wasn’t buying it.

Told of Florida State coach Karen Harvey’s notion that six teams are fighting for four NCAA trophies today in Terre Haute, Indiana, Wilson preferred to laugh off the idea. He ticked off the teams he sees as stronger than his Golden Gophers: prohibitive favorites Washington, Harvey’s #2 Seminoles, #3 Oregon, and #5 West Virginia, #9 Texas Tech with two-time individual champ Sally Kipyego.

He didn’t mention #5 Princeton, but Wilson probably meant to.

“Who did she say the six were,” Wilson wondered?

Although Wilson’s Gophers were ranked as high as #4 earlier this season, the 24th-year Minnesota coach named bettering his program’s best-ever NCAA finish – the 9th place the 2005 team earned – as the proper goal for this year’s squad.

The Gophers are making their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance and their 12th total. They enter the meet, for the second year in a row, as the Big Ten and Midwest Region champions.

Wilson said the key to success, by whatever definition, would be strong running by his top two runners – junior Megan Duwell and senior Gabriele Anderson – and tightly packed running by his #3 - #7 runners.

“The run well as a group when they run together,” Wilson said of juniors Amy Laskowske, Mallory Van Ness, junior Heather Dorniden, and Jamie Cheever, and graduate student Felicitas Mensing.

The Gophers intend to run the same seven runners on Monday as they did at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet last weekend.

More Nationals Magic? … Last year, the Gopher men placed a surprise 8th at the NCAA Championships, powered by all-Americans Hassan Mead and Chris Rombough.

Today, they’ll be looking for a repeat of that nationals magic.

The team’s stars return – Rombough could become Minnesota’s first-ever three-time all-American, Mead, the Big Ten and Midwest Region champ, could race himself into the NCAA elite – and the #12 Gophers, who have improved meet-to-meet throughout the season, seem poised for a strong run.

Gopher men’s coach Steve Plasencia said Sunday his team is healthy. He plans to run the same seven runners today that competed at the NCAA Midwest Regional where the team finished an automatic qualifying 2nd: sophomore Mead, senior Rombough, sophomore Ben Blankenship, junior Matt Barrett, sophomore Mike Torchia, sophomore Mike McFarland, and senior Ben Puhl.

The Minnesota men will make its 20th appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships today. The Gophers have competed in 11 of the last 12 Championships, missing out only in 2006 when they stumbled at the Midwest Region meet they hosted.

The best NCAA finish for the Gophers was a fourth-place performance in 1968.

Heath Brothers Power #3 Stanford ... Winona High School graduates Garrett and Elliott Heath have been important contributors in #3-ranked Stanford's season so far. The Cardinal won their division of the Pre-National meet here in October and were runner-up -- behind #1 Oregon -- at the Pac Ten and West Regional meets.

Other Minnesota natives expected to compete at NCAAs include Detroit Lakes alum Hanna Grinaker of Wisconsin, Mankato Loyola grad Sarah Price of Michigan State, Prior Lake alum Megan Brandeland of #3-ranked Princeton, and Eden Prairie alum Ryan Little of #2 Oklahoma State.

Minnesota Weather in Indiana … Nationals morning has dawned breezy, rainy, and cool. The forecast predicts rain and show showers, 10-15 mile per hour winds, and temperatures in the low 40s will greet the Gopher men and women and the rest of the NCAA field later today. The course was dry and in great condition yesterday, but has endured precipitation that began here last night around midnight.

NCAAs on TV and the Web … The NCAA Championship will be broadcast live on CBS College Sports Network and streamed online HERE. Coverage will begin at 11:00 a.m. CST.

NCAA XC: Reflections and Remembrances

It's NCAA Championship weekend again. Cross country teams from across the country have put the finishing touches on a long season of training, some hoping simply to hold on for one more race, others poised to surprise the competition with a perfectly timed peak. Whether you are talking about the Division I, II, or III level, the NCAA cross country meet is probably the single biggest day on the collegiate distance runner’s calendar.

The local running community looks on with interest. Saturday's DII and DIII races have come and gone, and we can celebrate the victory of a Minnesota woman in the DIII race. Many are curious to see how the Golden Gophers will fare on Monday, and some of us may be checking up on the old alma mater as well. For those of us who ran collegiate cross country, it is also a chance to look back and remember the journey.

For me, memories of NCAAs are bittersweet. I was a member of two NCAA championship teams at Stanford. Coached by current University of Oregon coach Vin Lananna, “the Machine” (as we called ourselves) was the dominant program of the late 1990s. Coach Lananna has done it again, taking an Oregon program steeped in tradition, and returning it to greatness.

When I think about my college team, I think about a great bunch of guys bonded closely by the pressures of performing on the course, and the greater pressures of a training regimen so intense that it pushed us either to become great or to crack.

I, unfortunately, usually fell into the “cracked” category. The best I could manage were my final two seasons, when I subbed in as a varsity runner at the district meet. I ran 6th or 7th on the team, which once was good enough for All-District honors, but never got me to the starting line at the national meet.

In 1997, I traveled with the team to Furman, South Carolina; I was the alternate – the guy who warmed up with the team and did the whole routine up until it was time to start the race, at which point, I stepped off to the side and assumed the role of cheerleader.

We won the meet. It was an incredible weekend to be a part of, and I truly cherish having been there with the team. But at the same time, it smarts that much more to be that close and not quite make it.

The disappointment of sitting out the national championship meet was certainly great, but it did not really take away from the experience of being a part of great teams. If I could go back and do it again, I would not have chosen to run for a team that was not quite as good, even if it meant I would have had more racing opportunities like the NCAA XC meet.

By running with the best, I learned how to push harder and dig deeper than I ever thought possible. I developed the humility to understand that the body can only be pushed so far before it rebels. Several of my teammates went on to run in the 2000 Olympics. I watched them qualify and compete with a great sense of pride.

The years that followed saw the typical post-collegiate dispersion and loss of contact. A couple of my teammates continue to train and race today. Most of them trained for another year or two after graduation, and then hung up the spikes. They felt like they had gone as far as they could in running. If there is a lesson to be learned from my experiences, it’s that at age 22 or 23, you are only beginning to come into your prime as a runner. I wonder what some of the guys who roundly whipped me meet-after-meet may have accomplished if they had continued to train with passion for another five or ten years.

If disappointment has a silver lining, it is found in the sense of possibility, the feeling of just missing something that could have been great, and being that much hungrier for a taste of success. I finished my collegiate career and turned a new page on running. Rather than staying with Coach Lananna and the Nike Farm Team, I joined a small club team called Hoy’s Excelsior, based in San Francisco. I ran cross country, road races, and eventually made it back to the track.

I did many of the same grueling workouts – six by a mile, or ten by a kilometer – and I continued to do them hard. However, I took more easy days in between, and I rested well before racing. Those minor adjustments took my career to a new level. Eventually, I ended up back in Minnesota and the marathon soon became my obvious niche.

When I watch NCAAs these days, it’s no longer with the envy of the guy who didn’t quite make it. I remember how hard it was just to make it there, and the pressure of having to time your training so well – to push yourself to new heights, and to balance there for that one day without stepping off the edge into the abyss of illness, injury, or overtraining. So when I watch, I feel pure unadulterated excitement to see such a mass of talented runners barreling along the course. The runners attack the race, fueled by miles and miles of base training, endless interval workouts, and the realization that, for a few moments, they are living their dreams.

Bethel's Borner Wins Division III Title

Bethel University junior Marie Borner won the individual title at today's NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. The reigning D3 indoor Mile champ ran down early leader Elise Tropiano of Amherst for the title.

The two-time MIAC cross country champion, clocked 20:43 over the serpentine Hanover College campus course.

University of St. Thomas senior Katie Theisen finished 13th in the race in 21:24

Listen to post-race audio with Borner (pictured) and her coach Jim Timp here ...



Borner is the seventh MIAC woman to win the Division III title, and the second in the last four years. Gustavus Adolphus College's Hailey Harren won in 2005, the Gustie's Sarah Edmonds won in 1992, Shelley Scherer and Anna Prineas, both of Carleton, won consequtive titles in 1987 and 1988, St. Thomas' Lisa Koelfgen won in 1986, and Macalester's Julie Kirtland won in 1984.

In team competition, St. Thomas finished 14th with 383 points, Bethel was 19th with 406, and Carleton finished 23rd with 471.

Middlebury College of Vermont won the team title with 179 points, Calvin College of Michigan was runner-up with 237.

Official results can be found HERE.

Photo by Charlie Mahler.

Mankato Men, Duluth Women 8th at D2

Led by Moorhead native James Krasja's 10th-place run, MSU-Mankato finished 8th at the Division II Championships in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Krasja clocked 31:34 over the snowy 10-kilometer course.

The Mavericks scored 230 points, just six behind Queens (NC) and in front of the Colorodo School of Mines (254), a team they edged 108-115 at the Central Region meet two weeks ago.

Mankato entered the meet ranked 10th overall in the USTFCCCA poll and defeated Alaska-Anchorage and UMass-Lowell at nationals, two teams ranked ahead of the Mavericks in the final poll.

Junior Denise Mokaya was the second runner across the line for MSU, finishing 38th overall in 32:15. Freshman Dana Schmidt, and seniors Chad Janiszeski and Benjamin Klungtvedt rounded out the scoring.

Favorites Adams State won the team title with 67 points ahead of Western State's 88. After anouncing this week that he would turn pro after the season, Scott Bauhs of Chico State took home the individual crown in 30:23.

Full men's results are HERE.

Young UMD Shines ... In the women's race, freshman Morgan Place paced the University of Minnesota-Duluth to an 8th-place team finish. Place ran 21:49 over 6 kilometers, crossing the line 7th overall.

The Bulldogs finished with 249 points, sandwiched between Chico State (241) and Alaska-Anckorage (266).

UMD finished 4th in a talented central region to earn their first NCAA birth sinc 1994. They were ranked 11th in the final USTFCCCA poll.

Junior Liz Palkie, who finished 41st in last years national meet after qualifying individually, improved six places in 2008 with her 22:39 clocking. Bridget and Whitney Hines each ran 23:21 as the third and fourth Bulldogs.

All seven UMD runners have eligibility remaining for next season; all but Palkie have at least two years remaining.

Adams State won the meet with 79 points, taking both the men's and the women's title. Seattle Pacific Junior Jessica Pixler dominated the field; her winning time of 20:59 was 28 seconds clear of her closest competitor.

Full women's results are HERE.

Gleason, Ruon, Greeno are All-Americans at D3

Hamline University's Brandon Gleason (pictured, right), St. Olaf College's Dobuol Ruon, and Bethel University's Dan Greeno, the top Minnesota finishers in the NCAA Division III Men's Championships this morning, each earned all-American honors.

The award is conferred upon athletes finishing in the top-35 at the meet.

Gleason finished 13th in 24:47; Ruon was 22nd in 24:51, Greeno was 33rd in 24:59.

Listen to DtB's excluisive intereview with Gleason below. Gleason, you'll remember, was seriously injured in a collision with a vehicle while on a training run in the winter of 2007.



In team competition, St. Olaf finished 15th with 424 points; St. John's was 22nd with 533.

Cortland State of New York won the men's team title with 80 points; North Central College of Illinois was runner-up with 115.

Hamilton's Peter Kosgei won the men's race clocking 24:22.

Official results are HERE.

Photo by Charlie Mahler.

Reich Picks D3 Over Rhodes Scholarship

While we're waiting for action to commence at the NCAA Division III Championships here in Hanover, Indiana -- where it's cloudy and 24 degrees -- we wanted to make sure you saw the story Amby Burfoot wrote for Runner's World Online yesterday.

Burfoot, HERE, reported on Grinnell College senior and Mahtomedi High School alum Henry Reich's decision to eschew a Rhodes Scholarship interview in Minneapolis today in order to run with his teammates at the D3 meet.

Enjoy the story, then check back around 10:30 CST (or thereabouts) for news from the Division III Championships.

Follow NCAA Cross Country with DtB

Down the Backstretch is the place to be all "weekend" for coverage of the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Division I, II, and III.

DtB will be on-hand Saturday in Hanover, Indiana where Minnesota's top small college teams and athletes will compete in the Division III Championships. We'll post news, results and hopefully some photos and audio from the race course.

We'll also post highlights and results from the Division II meet in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania on Saturday where the Minnesota State Mankato men and University of Minnesota - Duluth women will toe the line. (Truth in advertising, we won't actually be there, ourselves.)

On Monday, we will be on site in Terre Haute, Indiana for the Division I Championships. We'll have reports on-line as soon as each race is completed and, as the day goes on, we'll add stories, quotes, photos, and audio.

So, stay tuned to Down the Backstretch for the latest NCAA news for Minnesota cross country fans!

Minnesota's Wilson, Mead Honored Again

Gary Wilson and Hassan Mead are two-for-two.

The Gopher women's coach, Wilson, and the star Gopher runner, Mead, were named Midwest Region Women's Coach of the Year and Midwest Region Runner of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The two earned matching honors from the Big Ten two weeks ago.

Wilson's women's team defended its Midwest Region title last weekend. His team is ranked #6 in country heading into Monday's NCAA Division I Championships.

Mead, who won the Midwest Region men's title, led a 1-2 finish for the Gophers there. Teammate Chris Rombough finished second in the meet. The Gopher men are ranked #12.

High School Report: NXN and Footlocker

In all the action and hoopla surrounding the NCAA Championships -- D2 and D3 will be contested on Saturday, D1 on Monday -- we've been remiss with news about the state's top high school athletes who are now competing in the "post-post-season" phase of the 2008 campaign -- Nike Cross Nationals and the Footlocker Cross Country Championships.

Here's the latest, then, on the preps ...

-- Minnesota will be represented by at least two teams at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon on December 6. Wayzata, avenging one its only defeats of 2008, topped Bismarck, North Dakota 62-65 to win the NXN Heartland Region boys championship. Bismarck won the Griak Invitational earlier in the season with 78 points; Wayzata finished 3rd at Griak with 155.

-- Wayzata boys' coach Bill Miles was named the Eastbay Coach of the Week prior to the Heartland meet. There's a nice interview with the long-time Wayzata coach HERE. Miles' Trojans were ranked #18 in the Harrier Super-25 poll prior to Heartland.

-- Eden Prairie won the Heartland girls' title 45-96 over Sioux Falls Roosevelt, and is the other Minnesota team sure to be on the line Portland. The 2008 Class AA champs placed three runners in the top-10, led by Class AA individual titlist Cassie Opitz who finished 5th overall.

The Eden Prairie boys could join the girls at NXN, too. The Eagles finished 4th at Heartland and are still eligible for one of four at-large berths to the Portland meet.

-- Minnesota will also send a passel of individuals to the NXN. The top five regional finishers not on a qualifying team earned trips to Portland. Grand Rapids' Jacub Zivec won the Heartland boys' individual title, pulling away from defending champ Joash Osoro of Bismarck in the final 100 meters of the 5K race to win in 15:24. Zivec, a Czech exchange student, was relegated to JV competition during the MSHSL season.

Also gaining national berths were Class AA champ Lukas Gemar of Moorhead, the 3rd place finisher in 15:37, Willmar's Mahad Hassan, 4th in 15:404, and Alexandria's Drew Paradis, 6th in 15:45. Jamie Piepenburg, also of Alexandria, who finished 3rd in the 5K girls' race in 18:08, is the state's lone female individual qualifier.

-- While regional competition for NXN continues elsewhere through the next two weekends -- you can keep track of all the action HERE -- many Minnesota preps are now turning their attention to next Saturday's Footlocker Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Grand Rapids' Zivec and Class AA girls' runner-up Claire Guidinger of Winona are among the state's early entrants for the meet, found HERE.

The Footlocker Finals take place in San Diego, California on December 13.

Opitz, Gemar Named Athletes of the Month

Cassie Opitz and Lukas Gemar have been named USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for November 2008, the organization announced yesterday.

Opitz, a senior at Eden Prairie High School, was honored for winning the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Girls Cross Country title on November 1 in Northfield Minnesota. Opitz, the Class AA 3200 meter champion in track last spring, won her cross country title with a time of 14 minutes, 24 seconds on the 4K St. Olaf College course.

Gemar, a sophomore from Moorhead High School, was recognized for his surprise win in the MSHSL Class AA Boys race. Gemar was ranked #7 entering the race but topped the field with a 15:32 clocking over the 5K course.

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 Teams Rise in Final D1 Rankings

On the merits of two strong runs at the NCAA Midwest Regional, the University of Minnesota cross country teams have risen in the final U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association polls released yesterday.

The Golden Gopher women are now ranked #6 in Division I. The Gopher men are ranked as #12. The Gopher squad will compete at the NCAA Division I Championships on Monday in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Gopher women were ranked #7 prior to the regional meet; the Gopher men were ranked #14.

Last weekend, the Gopher women defended their Midwest Region title with 57 points. Megan Duwell led the squad with a 4th place individual finish. The Gopher men, behind Hassan Mead and Chris Rombough who finished 1-2 in the individual race, placed an automatic-qualifying 2nd behind #2-ranked Oklahoma State.

Full women's rankings are HERE.

Full men's rankings are HERE.

Surprising Johnnies Enter D3 Poll at #21

The St. John's University men's cross country team, the surprise automatic qualifiers from the NCAA Division III Central Regional where they finished runner-up to Nebraska Wesleyan 130-139, are ranked #21 in the final US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll released Monday.

The Johnnies, who finished just 5th at the MIAC Championships two weeks before, make their first appearance in the national top-35 this season.

MIAC Champion St. Olaf, third at the Central Region with 148 points and an at-large qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championships in Hanover, Indiana on Saturday, is ranked #25 in the final poll.

Full D3 men's rankings are HERE.

Inside the Numbers ... St. John's, which scored 116 points at the MIAC Championship on November 1, scored 84 points against MIAC competition at the Central Region. Four of the team's five scorers moved up in the MIAC pack -- by an average of 8.5 places -- while only one lost ground, and then only a single MIAC place.

St. Olaf actually outscored the Johnnies by a point in the MIAC-only version of the meet, tallying 83 points. At the actual MIAC meet, the Oles scored 75 points. The Ole top-5 was also a half-second faster than the Johnnie scorers at regions -- 2:12:21.8 to 2:22.3.

Central Region men's results are found HERE.

MIAC men's results can be found HERE.

Tommie Women #13 ... In women's rankings, St. Thomas, an at-large qualifier to nationals after a 3rd place finish in the Central Region, tops Minnesota squads with a #13 ranking. Fellow at-large qualifiers Bethel and Carleton, 4th and 5th at regions, are ranked #22 and #27.

The Tommies, who won the MIAC meet by 2 points over Bethel, with Carleton just another three points behind, scored 117 points at regions. Bethel tallied 165; Carleton scored 170.

Central Region women's results are found HERE.

MIAC women's results can be found HERE.

Full D3 women's rankings are HERE.

NCAA-Bound Gophers Run Strongly at Regions

The University of Minnesota cross country teams earned national meet berths Saturday and appear poised for strong finishes at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships held a week from today in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The #7-ranked Gopher women defended their Midwest Region title, beating #14 Illinois 57-64. #29 Nebraska was 3rd with 124; #20 Iowa was 4th with 126.

The Gophers and the Illini earned automatic berths into the NCAA Championships; the Conrnhuskers and Hawkeyes will compete at nationals as at-large picks.

The Gopher men put together the best race of their season so far finishing second to #2-ranked Oklahoma State 42-51. 3rd place Tulsa and 4th placers Iowa State earned at-large selection to nationals via selection by the NCAA committee.

Women ... "We ran a great team race today,” Gopher women's coach Gary Wilson said in a media release. “We went in with the plan to run an aggressive race from the start and our pack did a terrific job is sticking together."

The aggressive racing landed six Gopher women in the race's top-20. Junior Megan Duwell, the Gophers’ #1 runner all season, finished 4th in 20:45. Senior Gabriele Anderson was 12th in 21:24, junior Amy Laskowske was 13th in 21:26, junior Mallory Van Ness was 14th in 21:26, graduate student Felicitas Mensing finished 18th in 21:29, and junior Heather Dorniden was 19th in 21:31.

Junior all-American Jamie Cheever finished 26th in 21:42.

The #7 Gophers, who defended both their Big Ten and Central Region titles from a year ago, will head to NCAAs seeking the top-10 national finish that eluded them last year. Ranked #5 entering NCAAs in 2007, the Gophers finished a disappointed 12th.

Men ... A 1-2 finish by Gopher all-Americans Hassan Mead and Chris Rombough powered the team's runner-up finish. Mead, a sophomore, won the Midwest Regional in 31:15; Rombough, a senior, was second in 31:18.

“We knew going in that Hassan and Chris could compete at the front of the pack,” Golden Gopher coach Steve Plasencia said. “What we needed was for our other guys to push forward and they certainly came through for us today."

Sophomore Ben Blankenship, showing that a young miler can succeed at the 10K distance, was the Gophers #3-man with an 11th-place, 31:28 run, junior Matt Barrett was 18th in 31:40, and sophomore Mike Torchia was 19th in 31:41.

"Ben (Blankenship) ran with great confidence today and was a key contributor," Plasencia said. "We have conditioned ourselves to be successful at the longer 10K distance run in the NCAAs."

Mike McFarland, 23rd in 31:56 and Ben Puhl, 39th in 32:19, rounded out the Gopher finishers.

The Gopher men, who were ranked #14 ahead of the Midwest Regional, no doubt hope to repeat the success of last year's NCAA meet when the team finished 8th -- the best performance by the Gophers at nationals since 1969.

Find Midwest Regional results HERE.

Find complete details on the NCAA Championship field HERE.

Short-Cut: Results' Links for November 14-15

Below you'll find our patented (okay, not really) links to all the important Minnesota results from a busy weekend of cross country racing.

NXN Heartland ... We previewed the D1 and D3 meets earlier today (see below), so here we'll touch on the Minnesota prospects at tomorrow's Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Region to be held in Sioux Fall, South Dakota. Two teams and five individuals will qualify for NXN National Finals December 6 in Portland, Oregon.

The folks at Dyestat have a nice preview page for the meet HERE.

Minnesota team favorites include Class AA boys and girls' champions Wayzata and Eden Prairie, respectively, both of whom are ranked #2 in the Heartland. Also with a chance to place high are the #3-ranked Eden Prairie boys, the Class AA runners-up, and #9 Edina boys, the unlucky 3rd place team in Section 6AA.

In girls' competition, #4-ranked Lakeville North, the Class AA runner-up and the only other Heartland-ranked team from the State, isn't entered in the meet.

Individually, Class AA boys' champ Lukas Gemar and Grand Rapids exchange student Jakub Zevic -- who wasn't allowed to compete in varsity competition by the MSHSL -- lead the Minnesota charge in the boys' race. Class AA girls' champ Cassie Opitz and runner-up Claire Guidinger should pace the North Star State girls.

Find results from Heartland NXN and lots more below ...

Saturday's Minnesota Action:
NCAA Division I Midwest Regional Results: Women * Men
Going to Nationals: Gopher women win, Gopher men 2nd, Mead, Rombough place 1-2!

NCAA Division III Central Regional Results: Men * Women
Johnnies Qualify: Unsung St. John's the lone Minnesota auto-qualifier ... St. Olaf men, St. Thomas, Bethel, Carleton women await at-large selections.

At-Large Qualifiers: St. Olaf men; St. Thomas, Bethel, & Carleton women. Full details HERE.

NXN Heartand Results: Boys * Girls
Three Minn. Winners: Wayzata boys, Eden Prairie girls, Jacub Zivec all win!

Saturday's Other Qualifying Action:
NCAA Division I Regional Results: HERE
NCAA Division III Regional Results: HERE
NXN Regional Results: HERE