Cross Country teams set to compete at UMAC Championship Saturday
Video Interview with Grey Davis, Martin Luther College
2014 UMAC Cross Country Championship Webpage
ST. PAUL – Stebner Field in Hermantown, Minnesota will play host to the 2014 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships this Saturday, November 1.
The College of St. Scholastica was once again predicted to win the men’s and women’s titles in the 2014 coaches’ preseason poll. For the men, the Saints will look to extend their UMAC streak by capturing their sixth straight UMAC title. The Saints return two-time all- UMAC recipient and 2013 Individual Champion Chris Lawson to the field as well as 2013 all-conference recipient Luke McKenzie who finished in third place at last year’s championship meet. Lawson and McKenzie have been the first Saints to cross the finish line in each outing this year. On the women’s side the Saints will look to capture their 14th consecutive UMAC title on Saturday but will have to do it without 2013 UMAC and NCAA Division III National Champion Chelsea Johnson. However, the Saints return a wealth of experience to Saturday’s race including two-time all UMAC performers Andrea Mogren, Liz Braml and Molly Burgstahler as well as 2013 all-conference runners Taylor Gibson and Jordan Johnson.
The Saints will be challenged by a strong field of competitors this season on both the men’s and women’s side. The Bethany Lutheran men’s team was predicted to finish second in preseason poll and they hope to live up to that ranking at this year’s championship behind the speed of 2013 All-UMAC recipient Owen Richardson. Richardson and the Vikings finished in a tie for first place with Martin Luther College at the MLC Invite earlier this season. The tie marked the first time in program history that the Vikings at least tied for first in a cross country event. For the women, Bethany Lutheran was picked third in the preseason poll. The Vikings return 2013 All-UMAC runners Lauren Farquhar and Megan Sauer to this year’s championship race. Sauer was the first runner in the field to cross the finish line at the MLC Invite earlier this season and the Vikings hope to continue to build on their success at Saturday’s Championship.
Finishing in third place in the UMAC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll was the University of Minnesota Morris. The Cougars are led this season by sophomores Marcus Lagevin and Robert Thurston. As a team the Cougars are certainly peaking at the right team will each runner turning in a personal best at the St. Bonifacius Invite on October 18. The Cougar women will look to challenge the reigning champions on Saturday as they have done throughout the season so far. Two-time all-conference runner Amanda Peters will lead the pack for the Cougars and looks to be the favorite for the women’s individual title as well. Peters finished in fifth place at last year’s UMAC event and posted a personal best time of 23:22.6 earlier this season. Peters will also be joined by 2013 All-UMAC runner Laura Borkenhagen in Saturday’s championship.
The Martin Luther College men were picked fourth in the preseason poll but hope to finish higher than that at this year’s championship with their sights set on challenging for a conference title. The Knights return all-conference runners Grey Davis and Darian Schnose from last year’s team that finished in second place at the championship race. Davis and Schnose are joined by freshmen Justin Wilkens who has had an incredible freshmen campaign finishing in first place at MLC’s home event. The Martin Luther women were also predicted to finish fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll as they returned all of their top five runners from 2013 this season including 2011 and 2012 All-UMAC runner Emilee Koltz. Amara Biebert has had strong season for the Knights as she and Koltz have pushed each other throughout the season.
After a down year in 2013, the University of Northwestern men were predicted to finish fifth in the preseason poll behind a much larger roster in 2014 that includes some young talent for the Eagles. Freshman Wil Maki has had a great season for the Eagles, progressively getting better with each race. Likewise, the Northwestern women were also predicted to finish fifth in the preseason poll. The Eagle women are also young this season but return Maria Olson who had the team’s top time at the 2013 championship. Olson is joined by several newcomers, including freshman Megan Reece. Reece, a high school track and field athlete, is competing in cross country for the first time and making a name for herself in her first season as she continues to shave time off each week.
The Rams of North Central University were picked to finish in sixth place in both the men’s and women’s race in the preseason poll. The men return two runners from last year’s squad that finished in fifth place including All-UMAC runner Sutton Rehwaldt. Jake Guttormson joins Rehwaldt in leading the Rams this season but the Rams also have several solid first year runners in the mix who have continued to shave time off their personal bests all season. The North Central women return the core of their team from last season including two-time all-conference runner Annalise Schroeder. Schroeder will look to again be in the hunt for all-conference recognition on Saturday. She turned in her best time of the 2014 season in her last outing at the St. Bonifacius Invite.
After finishing in sixth place in the men’s race last year, Northland College hopes to improve on that finish at the 2014 Championship behind veteran runners Louis Corcoran and Nile Merton. The LumberJills return Kim Odeberg who has led the team throughout the 2014 season. The Jills also look to continue to climb their way up from last year’s seventh place team finish.
Rounding out the field on Saturday will be the Crown College Storm. The Storm teams have several new faces this year, including first year head coach Nate Metzger. The only returner this season for the men’s squad is Jordan Whitcomb. However, newcomer Breier Sanders has had a great first season for the Storm. On the women’s side, the Storm have had one of their best seasons in recent years with transfer Shawna Heilman having an impressive first season in a Crown uniform.
The men’s 8K race will begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the women’s 6K race at 1 p.m. Please visit the UMAC Cross Country Championship
webpage for more information.