USATF Wraps-Up Championship Action

USA Track & Field held its final two national championships of 2009 last weekend-- the National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships and the National Club Cross Country Championships.

Here's the Minnesota news ...

JOs ... At Junior Olympics in snowy Reno, Nevada, ten Minnesotans competed in the championships, according to USATF - Minnesota youth chair Chris Dallager. The meet was delayed for an hour due to snowy conditions.

Shaelyn Sorensen of Lake Elmo, running in the 4000m Youth Division (13-14-year-old) girls' race, finished 28th in 16:25. There's a photo of Sorenson racing in the snow in THIS photo gallery -- she is wearing bib #804.

Results from all the JO races can be found HERE.


Club Cross ... Minnesota was represented by the Collegeville Track Club at the National Club Cross Championships in Lexinton, Kentucky. The squad finished 40th overall with 1171 points. Zap Fitness won the meet with 60.

Collegeville's Aaron Beaber led Minnesotans at the Open Men's race, finishing 240th in 34:16 on the 10K course. Nikki Borner of White Bear Lake was the lone Minnesotan in the Open Women's race, finishing 128th in 22:59 on the 6K course.

Thom Weddle, 71, of Minneapolis finished 260th in the Masters race and, as the lone runner in the M70 division, won his age-group in 46:21 for 10K.

Complete Club Cross Country results can be found HERE.

Photo: Collegeville at Club Cross Country Championships, courtesy of Joe Papin.

Stangler is SI "Face in the Crowd"

Albany native Rachel Stangler, a recent Augustana College graduate, is a Sports Illustrated "Face in the Crowd" this week.

You can find her HERE.

The magazine recognized Stangler (pictured) for her busy racing at the weather-impacted North Central Conference Championships last May, where she won the steeplechase and placed 2nd in the 3000 and 5000 meter events in the span of 90 minutes. She led Augustana to a team victory with her efforts.

Stangler was also the runner-up in the NCAA Division II steeplechase in 10:28.64.

Photo courtesy of Augustana College.

NCAA Meets Open Today in Division II and III

It's now the weekend in the year for the Sheena Devines, Jennifer Hensels, Shara Guidrys, and Lisa Browns of the world to shine.

National Championships in the small school divisions of the NCAA open today, and those national title winners and a host of other Minnesota hopefuls will compete through Saturday. Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California hosts the Division II meet; UW - Oshkosh is the site of the Division III meet.

Bemidji State's Sheena Devine , the defending champion in the shot put outdoors and a three-time NCAA Division II indoor champion enters Friday's shot put competition as only the #9-seed with a 48-0 1/2 mark. Rival Jessica Selby-Tallman of Missouri Southern -- read about her battles with Devine HERE -- is the top seed at 50-4 1/2.

Defending D2 outdoor pole vault champion Jennifer Hensel of Minnesota State Moorhead, the #2-seed at 13-7 1/2, expects her national meet competition to be rather local. The #1-seed in the competition is MSU Mankato's Katelin Rains, the two-time indoor champion and the D2's all-time highest vaulter. Rains enters Friday's competition at 13-11 1/2. Rains' teammate Lauren Stelten, the D2 indoor runner-up, is seeded #5.

Other prime Minnesota contenders in the NCAA Division II Championships include: Brittany Henderson of Mankato, seeded #3 in both the 100 and 200 meters, Roseau native Heidi Evans, the #1-seed in the 1500m, Moorhead's Ashley Roemer the #4-seed in the high jump, Mankato's Denise Mokaya the #8-seed in the 800m, teammate Josh Robertson the #4-seed in the high jump, and Bemidji's Joe Remitz, the #2-seed in shot put.

Heat sheets for the D2 meet can be found here: WOMEN * MEN

In the D3 meet, University of St. Thomas discus thrower Shara Guidry hopes to recapture the magic that brought her the national title last year in Oshkosh. In 2007, she won the event after entering the competition seeded at #9. This year? Guidry is again ranked #9 entering tonight's competition.

At the 2006 D3 meet, Gustavus Adolphus College's Lisa Brown won the national title with a 154-6 mark on her final throw of the competition. Last year, the Lake Crystal native finished second with 152-3. Brown, a junior, enters Saturday's competition with the longest throw in D3 this year -- 158-5.

Other Minnesota title contenders in the D3 meet include: Bethel's Marie Borner the #5-seed in the 1500m, Concordia-Moorhead's Leah Kay, the #6-seed in the heptathlon, St. Thomas teammates Erin Sprangers and Katie Theisen, the #6 and #7-seeds in the 800m, St. Thomas' Derek Marks, the #2-seed in the discus throw, St. John's Chris Erichsen, the #3-seed in both the steeplechase and the 5000m, and teammate Eric Diley the #3-seed in the long jump.

Heat sheets for the D3 meet can be found here: WOMEN * MEN

Small Colleges Name Award Winners

Minnesota's small college conferences have named their outstanding athletes and coaches of the year on the heels of last weekend championship meets. Here's a run-down of the best and brightest from the North Central Conference, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ...

NCC: Heidi Evans, a Roseau High School alum who competes for the University of North Dakota, and Kelvin Rodgers of Minnesota State - Mankato where named the conference's Outstanding Athletes. Evans won the 1500m (4:31.77) and 3000m (10:06.71) at the championships. Rodgers, a sophomore from O'Fallon, Illinois, won the long jump (23-7 1/4), 100-meter dash (10.60), and 200-meter dash (21.57) individually and was part of the winning 4x100 meter relay. Because of the weather-accelerated schedule, all four events took place in the span of just a few hours on Friday evening.

Mankato men's coach Mark Schuck earned Coach of the Year honors. His Mavericks completed an NCC triple crown for the school year, winning cross country, indoor, and outdoor track titles in what is the final year of competition for the conference.

You can read the NCC media release HERE.

NSIC: Minnesotans claimed the field events Athlete of the Year honors in the NSIC. Bemidji State thrower Joe Remitz earned the accolade for men after wining the shot put, finishing second in the discus, and taking third in the hammer. Remitz, a North Branch native, set a new NSIC record with his shot put win of 61-6 3/4.

Minnesota State Moorhead’s Ashley Roemer earned the same distinction for women, The Maple Lake alum was a triple winner for the Dragons in the heptathlon (4,755 points), high jump (5-6), and 800 meters (2:15.36), and was a member of the winning 4 x 400m (3:59.88) and 4 x 800m (9:13.36) relay teams.

You can read the NSIC media release HERE.

MIAC: Joe Sweeney, who's University of St. Thomas women have won each and every MIAC Outdoor Championship -- 25 in all! -- was named the MIAC women's coach of the year. He cross country, indoor, and outdoor squads have now won 60 MIAC titles. Fittingly, Tommie women earned Outstanding Women's Track Athlete and Field Athlete honors after the meet. Nikki Arola won the award on the track after she earned wins in the 200m (25.91) and 400m (56.81). Arola also ran on the winning 4x100m (48.47) and 4x400m (3:55.24) relays.

Shara Guidry won titles in the discus and shot put. Guidry claimed the shot put title with a throw of 40-7 and took home top honors in the discus, where she is the defending NCAA Division III champion, with a throw of 142-11. Guidry also took second in the hammer with 152-11.

Gustavus Adolphus College's Lisa Brown won the Outstanding Performance of the Meet award for women for winning the javelin with a meet record-setting mark of 158-5. Brown was the Division III champion in the event in 2006 and is currently ranked #1 among Division III national meet qualifiers.

On the men's side, Hamline University's men's coach Lynden Reder was named Coach of the Year. Reder's squad placed 3rd in the contest, behind champions St. Thomas and runners-up St. John's.

Johnnies swept the Outstanding Athlete Awards. Chris Erichsen took the honors on the track after scoring 28 point for his team by winning the steeplechase and 5000m and finishing second in the 10,000m to a teammate. Erik Diley earned the distinction in the field for winning the long jump in 23-11 1/2 and finishing second int he triple jump in 46-2 1/2.

The Tommies' P.J. Theisen (who was recently featured in THIS College Sporting News story) earned the Outstanding Performance of the Meet award for his body of work at the championship. He won the 400 hurdles in 52.63, a time currently ranked second in Division III. Theisen also anchored the winning 4x100 relay in 42.18 and added a second in the long jump in a season-best 23-8, which ranks sixth in Division III. Theisen also took second in the 110 high hurdles (14.66) and third in the triple jump (45-10 3-4). He also ran on the runner-up 4x400 relay.

You can read the MIAC women's media release HERE ... the men's is HERE.

Short-Cut: Results Links for May 9-11

The small colleges take center stage this weekend with their conference outdoor championship meets ...

The final North Central Conference Outdoor Championship gets underway today in Sioux Falls. Minnesota State Mankato will look to defend its 2007 men's title and complete a school-year trifecta by winning the loop's cross country, indoor, and outdoor titles for the year. Mankato's women will look to turn the tables on South Dakota, the women's champs outdoors last year and indoors in 2008.

At the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at Hamline, St. John's will try to defend its 2007 title against perennial power St. Thomas. In women's competition, St. Thomas, which has won each and every one of the 24 MIAC Outdoor Championships contested is again the heavy favorite.

At the North Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships, hosts Wayne State's men and the University of Mary's women will try to defend their 2007 titles.

Here are our links to all the results ...

Friday:
NCC Outdoor Championships: Results
Update: Mankato men, South Dakota women poised to win accelerated NCC meet ... nearly all events run as finals Friday to avoid Saturday's forecast bad weather.

NSIC Outdoor Championships: Info Page * Results
Update: MSU-Moorhead women 2nd, men 3rd after Day 1.

MIAC Outdoor Championships: Info Page * Results
Update: Johnnies, Tommie women lead after Day 1.

Minnesota Open: Men's Results * Women's Results
Update: Buzard 47.13, Studt 60-4 1/2, Peterson 16-10 3/4
Update: Rue 13-7 1/4, Radocaj 180-0, Dorniden 54.46

Oregon Twilight: Results
Update: Laura Hermanson wins in 2:06.41

Saturday:
NCC Outdoor Championships: Results
Update: Mankato men win final NCC title, Mankato women 2nd to South Dakota.

NSIC Outdoor Championships: Info Page * Results
Update: Moorhead women 2nd, men 4th.

MIAC Outdoor Championships: Info Page * Results
Update: Tommie women win 25th straight title, Tommie men tip St. John's.

USA 25K Championships: Results
Update: Jeremy Polson 15th in 1:21:14.

California Relays: Results
Update: Shani Marks wins with 45-9 1/4; Mitch Potter runs 46.97.

Sunday:
IAAF World Race Walking Cup: Results
Update: Philip Dunn walks 4:05:10, attains Olympic B standard.

Maverick Athletes, Tommie Coaches win Regional Awards

Minnesota State - Mankato stars Katelin Rains and Denise Mokaya and University of St. Thomas coaches Joe Sweeney and Steve Mathre earned regional awards this week from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Rains, the Division II record holder in the women’s pole vault, was named NCAA Division II North Central Region women's field event Athlete of the Year. This weekend the Spring Lake Park alum will shoot for her second straight NCAA indoor championship in front of her home crowd as MSU-Mankato host the D2 championships. At the North Central Conference Championships two weekends ago, Rains won the pole vault and triple jump.

Mokaya was named the North Central Region's men's track Athlete of the Year after he won the 800 meters and the mile at the NCC meet, leading Minnesota State to its third straight team title there. He is ranked second nationally in the 800 (1:51.41) and the mile (4:07.05). Mokaya, the 14th-place finisher at the 2007 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships, is a sophomore from Ngong, Kenya.

Sweeney, who guided the Tommie women to their ninth straight women's title at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference indoor meet, was named NCAA Division III's women's Central Region Coach of the Year. Sweeney has coached at St. Thomas for 27 years, winning National Coach of the Year honors in 1995. His teams have won 21 of the 24 MIAC indoor titles contested.

Mathre, whose Tommies swept the men's and women's titles at the MIAC indoor meet for the 24th year in a row, earned the region's men's Coach of the Year award. The St. Thomas men have never lost at the MIAC indoor Championships.

Ramsey Kavan of South Dakota and Denise Mokaya of Minnesota State-Mankato have been named the Outstanding Athletes for their efforts at the North Central Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held February 29-March 1 in Mankato. Lucky Huber of South Dakota and Mark Schuck of Minnesota State-Mankato have been named the North Central Conference Indoor Track and Field Coaches of the Year.

Kavan, a sophomore from Yankton, SD, won the mile(5:01.4), 3,000 meter(10:13.01) and 1,000 meter(2:53.33) runs and ran a leg of the winning distance medley relay. Kavan had an NCAA provisional mark in the mile. South Dakota claimed the team title for the eighth time overall and third time in the last four years.

Moyaka, a junior from Ngong, Kenya, won the mile and 800-meter run at the Championships and helped lead Minnesota State to a 284-148 victory over second-place South Dakota. He ran the mile in 4:16.47 as Minnesota State took four of the top five places in the event. Mokaya won the 800 in 1:53.71, an NCAA provisional-qualifying time. Mokaya was the Outstanding Athlete at the 2007 NCC Cross Country Championships.

Huber guided South Dakota to its eighth NCC Indoor Track & Field Championship and the third in the last four years. The Coyotes captured seven event championships at the meet to finish with a 192-162 edge over second-place Minnesota State-Mankato. Huber is being honored for the sixth time in his career.

Schuck led Minnesota State to the largest margin of victory in the history of the league. The Mavericks captured 14 of the 19 events in the meet. Minnesota State has now claimed eight indoor NCC titles, including two of the last three.

MSU-Mankato and South Dakota Win Titles at NCC Championships

Minnesota State University-Mankato had wins in 14 of 19 events to capture the men’s division of the North Central Conference Indoor Track Championships in Mankato. MSU-Mankato scored 284 points to beat South Dakota, whose total was 148. In the women's competition, South Dakota returned the favor by piling up 192 points to 162 for MSU-Mankato.

The only record to fall on the final day of the meet was when Terry Liggins of South Dakota posted an automatic qualifying time of 7.97 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. The record eclipsed the record of 8.0 seconds set by Adrian Stuart of MSU-Mankato in 2004. Complete results are available here. Winners in each event are listed below, as well as the team scores.

Friday Finals (Men)
Weight Throw Preston Scott, USD ....................... 56-10
Pole Vault Jason Beutz, UMD ..................... 15-6 1/2
Long Jump Kelvin Rodgers, MSU ................. 23-8 1/4
Pentathlon Nick Colvin, MSU ..................... 3511 pts.
5000 meter Jesse Merkel, MSU................... 15:11.93
Dis. Medley Relay Minnesota State ........................ 10:31.86

Saturday Finals (Men)
Shot Put Jeremy Soupir, MSU ........................ 53-9
Triple Jump Jeff Sebern, USD ........................ 46-2 1/2
High Jump Josh Robertson, MSU .................. 6-5 1/2
Mile Denise Mokaya, MSU ................. 4:16.47
60 Hurdles Terry Liggins, USD ...................... :07.97*
400 meter Nate Pieper, MSU ......................... :48.59
500 meter Sam Lance, MSU ........................ 1:04.65
60 meter Gabe Udia, SCSU ......................... :06.87
800 meter Denise Mokaya, MSU ................. 1:53.71
1000 meter James Krajsa, MSU .................... 2:31.10
200 meter Nate Pieper, MSU ......................... :22.06
3000 meter Dana Schmidt, MSU ................... 8:41.56
4x400 relay Minnesota State .......................... 3:21.40

Men’s Team Scores
1. Minnesota State...................... 284
2. South Dakota.......................... 148
3. Minnesota Duluth .................... 118
4. North Dakota ............................ 92
5. St. Cloud State ......................... 47
5. Augustana ................................ 44

Friday Finals (Women)
Weight Throw Cassie Corrigan, UMD ................ 51-8 1/2
High Jump Becky Schulz, AC ........................ 5-5 1/4
Long Jump Shana Brown, UNO .......................... 18-7
Pentathlon Kaycie Merrihew, MSU ............. 3277 pts.
5000 meter Miranda Wagner, AC ................. 18:01.15
Dis. Medley Relay South Dakota ............................ 12:15.36

Saturday Finals (Women)
Shot Put Lindsey Schultz, AC ................... 44-9 1/2
Triple Jump Kaitlin Rains, MSU..................... 37-7 1/4
Pole Vault Katelin Rains, MSU .................... 13-4 1/4
Mile Ramsey Kavan, USD................... 5:01.40
60 Hurdles Jessica Clausnitzer, UND .............. :09.05
400 meter Pinar Saka, UNO .......................... :55.74
500 meter Emma Erickson, USD ................. 1:14.80
60 meter Britanny Henderson, UNO ............. :07.58
800 meter Emma Erickson, USD ................. 2:12.78
1000 meter Ramsey Kavan, USD................... 2:53.33
200 meter Pinar Saka, UNO .......................... :24.54
3000 meter Ramsey Kavan, USD................. 10:13.01
4x400 relay South Dakota .............................. 3:49.49

Women’s Team Scores
1. South Dakota.......................... 192
2. Minnesota State...................... 162
3. Augustana .............................. 124
4. Nebraska-Omaha .................... 110
5. Minnesota Duluth ......................64
6. North Dakota ............................54
7. St. Cloud State .........................31

Augustana Leads Women, MSU Mankato In First in Men's NCC

Minnesota State University-Mankato has racked up 75 points after the first six events of the men's competition at the North Central Conference Championships in Mankato. They lead second place UMD by 31 points. In the women's competition, Augustana leads UMD by 20 points with a total of 57 points after the first six events.

In the women's long jump, Shana Brown of Nebraska-Omaha and Katelin Rains of MSU-Mankato were separated by half an inch, Brown jumping 18' 7" to win and Rains 18' 6.5" in second. Both marks were provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Championships. The South Dakota women's Distance Medley Relay also recorded a provisional qualifying mark while winning the event with a time of 12:15.36. Augustana's Miranda Wagner and Alyssa Anderson went one, two in the 5K with times of 18:01.15 and 18:06.48, respectively. UMD's Cassie Corrigan and Justina Froelich were first and second in the weight throw: Corrigan tossing 51' 8.5" and Froelich 51' 3.5".

In the prelims, MSU-Mankato's Brittany Henderson ran an NCAA Division II automatic qualifier of 7.53 seconds to lead all qualifiers in the 60 meter dash. Henderson also had a provisional qualifier in the 200 of 25.05, followed by two other provisional marks from Pinar Saka of Nebraska-Omaha(25.07) and Shaneka Parkes of South Dakota(25.41). Saka also had a provisional qualifer in the 400(56.97) as did teammate Anja Puc(57.62).

In the men's competition, Jason Beutz of UMD edged Andrew Smith of South Dakota in the pole vault for first. Both cleared an NCAA provisional qualifying height of 15' 6.5". The first two finishers in the weight throw also had provisional qualifiers as Preston Scott of South Dakota threw 56' 10" for first, and Matt Fick of North Dakota was second with a toss of 56' 8". Long jump winner Kelvin Rodgers of MSU-Mankato had a provisional qualifying mark of 23' 8.25" to win the long jump. MSU Mankato's DMR team finished first in 10:31.86. Jesse Merkel of MSU Mankato won the 5K in a time of 15:11.93.

In the men's prelims, Terry Liggins of South Dakota led all qualifiers in the 60 meter hurdles in an NCAA Divison II automatic qualifying time of 8.02 seconds. South Dakota's Dominic Artis lead all qualifiers in the 200 with a provisional qualifier of 21.98. Also getting a provisional mark was second fastest qualifier in the 200, Nate Pieper of MSU-Mankato who was timed in 22.18.

For the full meet schedule and results, click here.

Erickson, Clementson, Rains, Scott, and Fick Earn NCC Athlete of Week Honors

Emma Erickson of South Dakota and Jared Clementson of Minnesota Duluth have been named the North Central Conference Indoor Track Athletes of the Week while Kaitlin Rains of Minnesota State, Preston Scott of South Dakota and Matt Fick of North Dakota have been named the North Central Conference Indoor Field Athletes of the Week.

Erickson, a freshman from Gayville, SD, set state collegiate, DakotaDome and school records in the 1000-meter run with a winning time of 2:52.95 at the South Dakota Qualifier.

Clementson, a senior from , won the 800 meter run and surpassed the NCAA provisional mark for the second week in a row with a personal-best and winnng time of 1:53.91 at the St. John's Quadrangular.

Rains, a junior from Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, continued on her torrid pace this season by setting a new school record in the triple jump with a winning and provisional-qualifying leap of 38-8 3/4 at the Parents Day Open. She also won the pole vault with an automatic-qualifying vault of 13-5 1/4.

Scott, a junior from Parker, SD, had personal bests in winning the weight throw and finishing third in the shot put at the South Dakota qualifier. Scott had a mark of 55-02 in the weight throw and 46-8 3/4 in the shot put.

Fick, a senior from Grand Forks, ND, took first place in the weight throw at the St. John's Quadrangular with a toss of 55-11 1/2.

Others nominated: Track Male: Scott Hargens, South Dakota; Mike Elliott, Minnesota State; Corey Hehling, North Dakota. Track Female: Brittany Henderson, Minnesota State; Alyssa Wendt, Minnesota Duluth. Field Male: Blake Ridgeway, Augustana; Josh Robertson, Minnesota State. Field Female: Bobbi Jo Buyck, Augustana; Cassie Corrigan, Minnesota Duluth.

Mankato's Rains 6th at Pole Vault Summit

NCAA Division II indoor pole vault champion Katelin Rains finished in a tie for 6th at the Reno Pole Vault Summit over the weekend. The MSU - Mankato star who vaulted a D2 best of 14-0 1/2 last month, cleared 12-11 1/2 at the Nevada pole vault only gathering.

Jillian Swartz won the event at 14-1 1/4.

The IAAF has a story from the event HERE.

The Mankato Free Press wrote THIS story about the Rains and the Mankato vault crew.

Rains Soaring into 2008 Indoor Season

Did anyone else miss the start of the 2008 track and field season?

We’ll admit that we did.

On December 8, 2007, inside the facility that will host the 2008 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships -- Minnesota State – Mankato’s Myer's Field House – the young season got off to a soaring start.

There, defending Division II women’s pole vault champ Katelin Rains (pictured) of Mankato broke her own D2 all-time best in the event by vaulting 14-0 1/2. Finishing second was Division II outdoor champion Jennifer Hensel of Moorhead State who cleared 12-3 1/2.

You can find full results HERE.

Another national champ in action was Bemidji State’s Sheena Devine. The defending D2 indoor and outdoor champ in the shot put opened her season with a 47-8 1/2 toss. Devine also won the weight throw at 51-1 3/4.

Look for Rains will be back in action on January 4 at the Reno Pole Vault Summit.

We’ll try not to miss that meet!

Schuck: Behind the Mavs 5th Place at NCAAs

We caught up with Minnesota State - Mankato coach Mark Schuck (pictured) recently to get the inside story on his team's fine 5th place finish at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Joplin, Missouri. Denise Mokaya, James Krajsa, and Jeff Stuckenbroker earned all-American distinction for the Mavericks.

DtB: How did the Nationals race play out? Did you guys get your position early on? Could you see how you were doing relative to Grand Valley and Chico State?

Schuck: Our race plan was to be a little conservative at the start and work our way up. We wanted Denise in the top 15 at 5k and he was and the rest around 25 to 40th. I didn’t look so much to Grand Valley or Chico but rather was more concerned with our position in the meet. My job is to let the athlete know where they are and to remind them of their goals and race plan. I try to keep it simple when the heat is on. I thought we could be in the top eight for sure with a shot at top four Dan Ristau, our number 3 man all year did not have a good race and ended up 7th man for us. As you know, that can happen sometimes. He was trying so hard.

DtB: The 5th place finish at NCAAs is the best for your team since 1999 when they were third. Did you have a lot of confidence in this year's group all season?

Schuck: I have had a lot of confidence in this team. They kept improving every week. It was fun to watch that improvement.

DtB: You had three all-Americans. If you would, tell us a bit about what made each of them successful?

Schuck: The three all-Americans of Denise, James and Jeff are all hard working guys as are the rest of the four. I felt that all 7 of our team could have been all-American. Denise has a lot of talent and works hard. He was not our number one man early in the season, because he was out of shape in the early part. James is very tough mentally as is Jeff. Jeff has had a history of injuries, so he marches to his own drummer to stay healthy. It seems to be working. James always wants more and will do what it takes to be good. He never ran high school cross country. Not bad for a soccer player.

DtB: Looking ahead, you return six runners next year. Other than Grand Valley, though, your immediate competition doesn't graduate many either. What will it take get yourselves into a top-4, trophy-earning position in 2008?

Schuck: Luck is the answer. But my definition of luck is “when preparation meets opportunity”. I hope we have the opportunity and get to the National Meet and then I hope we will be better prepared to meet the challenge. The competition is not going away. To be in the top four, we must rise above the challenge. And the National meet is in Pennsylvania next year and I hope it snows.

Photo courtesy of Minnesota State - Mankato.

The Short-Cut: Results for November 10-11

Lot's of big meets to link to this weekend ...

Saturday:
NCAA Division I Midwest Regional (Gophers): Results
Update: Gopher women win; Gopher men, Mead 2nd.

NCAA Division III Central Regional (at St. Olaf): Results
Update: Women ... St. Thomas 4th, St. Olaf 5th, St. Ben's 7th.
Update: Men ... St. John's 3rd, Carleton 4th, St. Olaf 6th.

Nike Team Nationals Heartland Region: Results
Update: Wayzata boys win, Brainerd 4th.
Update: Burnsville girls 4th.

USATF-Minnesota XC Championships: Results

The Short-Cut: Results for October 19-20

Use DtB to click to the weekend's important results ...

Saturday:
North Central Conference Championships (in Duluth): Results
Update: Men ... Mankato 24, Augustana 62, UMD 67 ... Mokaya wins.
Update: Women ... Augie 36, UND 61, USD 62, UMD 114, Mankato 115 ... Stangler wins.

Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (in Winona): Preview Results
Update: A Moorhead State sweep ... Vanwechel wins.

Jack's Run (at the U of M): Results
Update: UW-Superior's Kramer and former Gopher Brown win.

Sunday:
Nerstrand Big Woods Races: Results

Friday Round-Up: Finnerty, Robertz, Polls

Happy Friday!

We've collected the week's miscellaneous and sundry items in a "round-up" posting today:

Finnerty on MileSplit.com ... Rob Finnerty, who's been the #1-ranked Class AA boy harrier all season in Minnesota, was interviewed this week by MileSplit.com. In the wide-ranging Q/A, Finnerty seems determined to quell a persistent rumor about former Golden Gopher star Antonia Vega being his personal assistant coach:

"I know some people out there, in Minnesota, think that Antonio was hired just to be my training partner and personal coach," Finnerty says. "In reality, this isn't true because he helps the rest of the team equally. They can believe what they want though. I, along with anybody that matter to me, know what the truth of the situation really is. Anybody who thinks differently is irrelevant"

The Star-Tribune story that put the idea out there is HERE.

Catching Up with Janet Robertz ... DtB contributor Chad Austin has posted a comprehensive interview with masters distance running phenomenon Janet Robertz, HERE, on his Running Minnesota blog. Robertz, who moved to Boca Raton, Florida earlier this year has had her running slowed by hypothyroidism.

"It really affected my metabolism and energy level," the 2004 USA Masters Marathon champion told Austin. "I was exhausted all the time even though I got 9+ hours sleep. It took over a year for the doctor to get my meds adjusted and even now I just don’t have the energy level that I once had. It has been really depressing. I keep hoping that I can run another marathon but realistically, it just may not be in the cards. I can run for an hour without too much trouble but anything beyond that has become a struggle. So, a few years back a 70-80 mile week was average. Today, 45-55 is average. My high mileage week is 55 miles. The longest I have run recently is 9.5 miles."

The Latest in College Cross Country Polling ... The small college cross country rankings have undergone some additional tweaks this week -- prior to, we'll predict, the wilder swings that will likely come after the conference championships this weekend and next.

In NCAA Division II, Minnesota State - Mankato holds the #12 spot in the ratings, down from #11 last week. NCC rivals -- and conference meet hosts -- Minnesota-Duluth is ranked #15, up a slot from last week. The NCC's Augustana is #25. In women's rankings, the NSIC's Moorhead State holds the #25 position in the polls heading into their conference championship in Winona tomorrow. The University of North Dakota women, ranked #16, are the favorites in the NCC for women.

In Division III, St. John's dropped a few more places -- to #9-- from their high-water mark of #5 earlier in the season. Carleton is ranked #24, up two spots from a week ago. The MIAC holds its championship next weekend. The St. Olaf woman are ranked #15 -- up from #17 last week, followed by MIAC rivals St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus at #22 and #35, respectively.

Mankato Men Eye Final NCC Championship

The North Central Conference will contest its final cross country championship this Saturday in Duluth. The league which boasts a long history of top-notch NCAA Division II athletics has seen many of its long-time members jump to Division I in recent years. South Dakota State and North Dakota State made the move a few years back; the University of South Dakota and the University of North Dakota will do so next year.

In light of the defections, the conference will cease to exist after this school year. Minnesota State - Mankato, the University of Minnesota - Duluth, St. Cloud State, and Augustana will move to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference beginning next year.

DtB caught up with long-time Mankato coach Mark Schuck to have him share a few memories of NCC meets past and to tell us about his current team, the favorites to win their 10th NCC title at the meet.

DtB: How odd is it for you, Mark, knowing that this is the last year for the conference that you've competed in for so long?

Schuck: I don’t see it so much as odd as I see it a sign of the times. The trend of so many NCC schools deciding to go DI to the point of disbanding the conference is unfortunate. However the four remaining schools all going to the Northern Sun gives hope that many of the good things that the NCC had will also be there with the Northern Sun. Hopefully better. The Northern Sun was our roots. It has always been a strong conference in track and cross country.

DtB: What do you think is the biggest Mankato highlight from all the NCC cross country championships?

When you word it that way, it brings to mind the great tradition of distance running at MSU. We have had many great athletes and many great teams but winning the NCC, the Regional and The National Championship in 1988 stands alone as the greatest accomplishment.

DtB: Do you have an intereting story about the blizzard meet?

Schuck: The night before the meet, at the coaches meeting, we talked about the incoming storm. We agreed that if NDSU was going to make any changes, that they give us fair warning. I like the athletes to eat three to four hours prior to competing. While at breakfast with the team, the people from NDSU came to our table and informed us that the storm was so bad that the meet is going to start in one hour and not only that but they also informed us that the race will not be a 10K but a 5K.

The meet management was concerned that athletes might get lost in the storm so instead of two loops they only went one loop. I thought that if they were concerned of athletes getting lost on the second loop that we should not run the first loop. On the second loop they will at least have a trail. The night before, I went to a store and bought ski goggles for each of my athletes.

The meet was also the qualifying meet for the National Meet. To make a long story short, we did qualify for Nationals. The goggles worked great. One of my better athletes, Tulu an African was last on my team. Two weeks later at the National Meet in California he was an All-American. I have never seen a race held in that bad of weather since.

I was also involved in a “blizzard meet” when Nationals were held at St. Cloud. We had a foot of snow the night before. We ran the meet. That was hard on the southern schools. That was in the early 80’s and Minnesota has not had the National meet since.

DtB: How is this year's team looking going into the meet? Is the squad healthy?

Schuck: I have a very deep team with four guys healthy and looking strong. They are James Krajsa from Moorhead, Denise Mokaya from Kenya, Dan Ristau from Blue Earth, and Jon Stoltman from Little Falls. Then there are the guys that are good, but somewhat hurt. Ben Klungvedt from Moorhead has a calf pull, Jesse Merkel, Menomonie, Wisconsin, has back problems, Chad Janizeski from Minneota was in a car accident, Erik Teig, from Amery, Wisconsin has leg problems and Jeff Stuckenbroker from Windom has a hip problem, Doug Galbavy from South Dakota has a hamstring problem, Jeff Lumbardo and Dan Kromer are healthy.

That’s our twelve guys that we have entered in this years conference meet. I feel good about our chances to win. It’s a good hard-working team.

DtB: UMD gave you a run at Griak ... are they the top challenger?

Schuck: Don’t count Augustana out. They have a strong team also, but UMD will be on there home course so it won’t be easy.

Related Content:

The NCC Cross Country History and Record Page

A Blogger's Archived Stories About the NCC's Demise

The NCC's Wikipedia Page

The Short-Cut: Results for October 12-14

#1 versus #4 ... The race of the weekend pits the #4 Minnesota Golden Gopher women against #1 Stanford at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana.

In the event which splits the loaded Division I field into two sections, Minnesota faces #7 Rice, #9 Michigan State (with Minnesotan Sarah Price), #11 Florida State, #14 Colorado State, #16 Boston College, #22 Georgetown, and #25 Wisconsin (with Hanna Grinaker) along with two-time defending NCAA Champions Stanford ... and their Minnesotan's Alex Gits and Shannon Bergstedt.

The Big Ten web-site just printed THIS nice feature on the Gophers' Ladia Albertson-Junkans.

The #24 Gopher men run in a Pre-Nats section with defending NCAA Champs Colorado, currently ranked #3 in D1, as well as #5 Stanford (with the brothers Heath), #7 Notre Dame (with Jake Watson), #10 North Carolina State, #14 Providence, #16 William & Mary, #18 Michigan, and #20s Arizona State and UTEP.

And there's a bunch of other action this weekend as well ...

Already:
High School Conference Meets: Collected Results

Saturday:
DeSales University Invitational (St Thomas women compete): Results
Update: Tommie women romp; Theisen, Russ finish 1-2.

Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational (in La Crosse): Results
Update: Men ... St. John's 4th, UMD 6th, Hamline 10th ... Erichsen 2nd in 25:00.
Update: Women ... Gopher "JV" wins, St. Olaf 6th, Gustavus 11th.

UW-Oshkosh Invitational (Bethel, Macalester men compete): Results
Update: Bethel women 5th, Borner 3rd in 21:22, Umhoefer 5th.
Update: Macalester men 13th, Greeno 21st in 24:59.

NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.): Results
Update: Gopher women 4th in "White Section," Stanford wins big -- Gits 31st in 20:58.
Update: Gopher men 7th in section w/o Torchia, Rombough runs best-ever U of M 8K XC -- 23:40

Lewis & Clark Pioneer Open (in Oregon, Carleton competes): Results
Update: Carleton men win big, Sepe, Kennedy finish 2-3; Carleton women 3rd.

Sunday:
Charities Challenge-Challenge Aging 5K: Results
IAAF World Road Running Championships: Results
Update: McGregor 27th in 1:12:01.

A Catch-Up, Round-Up of Recent News

With the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon occupying the bulk of our attention for the past week, it's time to catch up on recent happenings from across our sport. Below, in bite-sized form, is all of the sport's recent news ...

(This news round-up is dedicated to Bonnie in Shorewood ... who thanked us over the weekend for DtB's ability to let busy folks like her have careers, raise kids, and train for marathons and still keep up on the latest goings-on in the sport.)

Wayzata #2 in Heartland ... On the strength of their Griak Invitational win two weekends ago, the Wayzata boys cross country team earned the #2 ranking in Nike Team Nationals Heartland Region. University High School of St. Louis hold the #1 spot which Rosemount, now #6, had occupied since the start of the season. Stillwater is ranked #9 in the poll that was released on October 5.

In the Heartland girls' poll, Eden Prairie is ranked #7 and Burnsville is ranked #8. Yankton, South Dakota holds the #1 ranking as it has all season.

MSHSL Rankings ... Yet another Class AA girls team sits atop the state rankings. Let's see if we can recount the previous #1's in order ... Lakeville North, Prior Lake, Brainerd, Eden Prairie, and now the Blaze. Wayzata continues to lead Class AA boys, but the big story there is Roseville's leap from #12 to #5 after their upset of Stillwater in Alexandria last week. The Plainview-Elgin-Millville boys were the big movers in Class A, going from #8 to #2 in a week. Things were quiet on the Class A girls front with Adrian still holding #1.

Ward Qualifies for the Olympic Marathon Trials ... While lots of other marathoners were sweating it out at Twin Cities or in Chicago, Erin Ward of Run N Fun punched her ticket to the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:45:58 at the St. George Marathon in Utah. Women need a 2:47:00 to qualify.

Teammate Kelly Mortenson, the 12th place finisher at the 2000 Trials, missed the men's standard of 2:22:00 with a 2:23:29 on the last day qualifying for men.

TCM, the Kenyan Perspective ... TCM Elite Recruiter Rick Trueman alerted DtB to THIS story about TCM written for the area's African community.

Marcelo Ordaz-Cruz's Racing Chair Fund ... Gary Westlund at Charities Challenge informs us that his organization has raised $828.72 to outfit Interstate 35W bridge collapse survivor Marcelo Ordaz-Cruz with a new racing wheelchair. Ordaz-Cruz finished 9th in the men's wheelchair division at TCM in 2:36:09 despite overturning his chair in a crash near the 19 miles mark.

Charities Challenge has secured a $2000 "matching donation" for the fund that will effective double the value of individual pledges up to that amount. Westlund would like to raise $5000-6000 for Ordaz-Cruz.

Gophers #4 and #24 ... The University of Minnesota women retained their #4 ranking in the NCAA Division I poll this week. They are the #1-ranked Big Ten women's team in the poll. The Gopher men moved up a spot to #24. Both Gopher squads are scheduled to compete at the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday in a dry run on the national meet course.

Remembering Caty Delwiche ... We found two more stories from this weekend describing how Caty Delwiche's college and high school teams were remembering her death last week. Kevin Pates wrote about her Glencoe-Silver Lake team HERE as part of the Duluth News Tribune's Swain Invitational coverage. (There are some really cool photos from the event HERE.) The Mankato Free Press, HERE, was on hand at MSU - Mankato's home meet which served a racing memorial to the fallen runner.

Polls: St. John's Falls to #7, Mankato to #11

Minnesota's high-ranked small college men's teams lost some altitude in this week's coaches' polls. St. John's lost two places in NCAA Division III, while Minnesota State - Mankato fell two spots in Division II.

The Johnnies fell to #7 in D3 after a 3rd place finish at the Willamette Invitational last weekend. The Johnnies had been ranked #5 since pre-season ratings appeared. Carleton reoccupied it's #27 spot from the pre-season poll after falling to #31. Hamline joins the rankings for the first time this season at #35.

Mankato, which had spent the season at #9, fell to #11 in the D2 men's rankings after winning the Maroon II division at the Roy Griak Invitational. The University of Minnesota - Duluth, runners-up to Mankato at Griak, enter the poll for the first time this season at #16.

The St. Olaf women gained a spot in the D3 women's poll, rising to #17. St. Thomas remained #24 in the poll, Gustavus Adolphus entered the rankings for the first time at #34, and Carleton fell out of the top-35 after starting the fall at #19.

For D2 women, the University of Minnesota - Duluth women fell out of the top-25 but Minnesota State - Moorhead entered the rankings at #25.