UMAC Cross Country teams race for title on Saturday
Video Preview: Chris Lawson, College of St. Scholastica
Video Preview: Liz Braml, College of St. Scholastica
ST. PAUL – Brightwood Hills Golf Course in New Brighton, Minn. will play host to the 2013 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships this Saturday.
The College of St. Scholastica, who was predicted to win both titles in the annual coaches’ preseason poll, will look to defend their men’s and women’s titles from last season. For the women, the Saints will look to capture their 13th consecutive UMAC Championship behind standout Chelsea Johnson. After coming in second place individually at the championship meet last year and being named to the UMAC All-Conference list for the second straight year, Johnson has had an impressive 2013 season crossing the finishing line in first place five times this season while breaking her own school record in her last outing with a 6K time of 21:04. Johnson is joined by 2012 All-Conference runners Liz Braml and Andrea Mogren and newcomers Taylor Gibbson and Jordan Johnson, who have been key runners for the Saints this season. The St. Scholastica men will also look to keep their streak alive on Saturday hoping to capture their fifth straight UMAC title. 2012 All-UMAC recipients sophomore Chris Lawson and senior Charlie Habermann lead the pack for the Saints men. Lawson, who has turned in the top time for the Saints in his last four races, was the individual runner up at last year’s conference meet while Habermann finished in fourth overall.
The University of Minnesota Morris finished just behind the Saints in both the men’s and women’s preseason poll earlier this season. The Cougar women are led by 2012 All-Conference runners junior Amanda Peters and senior Maddie Gehrig, who share 6K personal bests of 23:55. On the men’s side sophomore Chalmer Combellick leads the way for the Cougars. Combellick, a 2012 All-UMAC runner has shaved significant time of his pace from last season, setting a new school record with his 8k time of 25.52 at the Jimmie Invitational.
After finishing the 2012 men’s race in second place as a team, the 2013 Northland College men’s squad hopes to remain near the top in the team results at this year’s Championship meet. Michael Sinclair returns for the LumberJacks after earning All-Conference honors at the 2012 Championship race. The LumberJills finished sixth at last year’s conference championship and will look to build on that finish on Saturday. Erika Zocher leads the team and has been the first LumberJill runner to cross the finish line in each outing this season.
Martin Luther College returns their top seven runners from the team that finished fourth at last year’s conference meet. The Knights, who were ranked third in the preseason coaches’ poll, are led by sophomore Grey Davis who earned UMAC All-Conference honors last season. Davis and the Knights hope to better their 2012 team finish at the 2013 Championship. Two-time all-conference recipient junior Emily Kolz looks to repeat her top 12 finishes from the past two seasons as the Knights hope to better their fourth place team finish from a season ago.
While the University of Northwestern men will not race as a complete team, freshman Nick Krinkie hopes to finish in the mix for all-conference honors on Saturday. Krinkie has consistently shaved time off of his personal best throughout his freshman campaign, turning in a time of 27:54 at the Brooks Invitational. Senior Sammy Wong leads the way for a young group of Northwestern women’s runners who hope better their fifth place finish from the 2012 Championship. Wong has been the first Eagle to cross the finish line several times this season, turning in her season best at the Brooks Invitational with a time of 25:01.8.
The Rams of North Central University return three of their top seven runners from last year’s third place team finish. Sophomore Annalise Schroeder finished in fifth place at last season’s UMAC Championship earning All-UMAC honors in her first season in a Rams uniform and looks to repeat that performance on Saturday. Schroeder ran season best time of 24:37.6 two weeks ago at the UW-LaCrosse Invitational. The men’s team hopes to improve on its eighth place team finish from a season ago behind junior Sutton Rehwaldt and freshmen Steven Klapak.
Freshman Lauren Farquhar has been a great addition to the Bethany Lutheran College women’s team this season. The Vikings, who finished seventh at last year’s championship race, hope to better that finish behind Farquhar and returners senior Bre Perlwitz and junior Alissa Sauer. Farquhar turned in a season best of 23:16 at UW-LaCrosse Invitational just two weeks ago. A young Bethany Lutheran men’s team looks to continue to climb the UMAC ladder after a seventh place finish at the 2012 Championship. Freshman Owen Richardson will look to lead the way for the Vikings.
The Crown College Storm will round out the field at Saturday’s Championship race. A young Storm men’s team returns sophomore Joshua Wedemeir, who just missed out on all-conference honors at last year’s UMAC Championship. Sophomore Sarah Holmquist leads the way for the Storm women who look to improve on last year’s eighth place UMAC finish.
The women’s 6K championship race will begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the men’s 8K race at 1 p.m. Please visit the UMAC Cross Country Championship
webpage for more information.