UMAC Women's Cross Country Championships set for exciting start Saturday
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Following a competitive season of competition this fall, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women’s cross country season will wrap up in exciting fashion Saturday as all nine squads will look to capture the conference title at the UMAC Championship at the Benson Country Club in Benson, Minnesota.
A year ago, the College of St. Scholastica won their 15th conference title in 16 years with a score of 32 points that was 31 points better than runner up University of Minnesota Morris. Heading into Saturday’s race, the Saints appear to be poised for repeat success despite a changing of the guard.
Chad Samela took over as the Saints’ leader following the retirement of long-time coach Steve Pfingsten. Under Samela, the Saints have competed with some of the best teams in the region this season and have seen solid individual performances.
The Saints placed 13th at the NCAA Central Region Meet a year ago led by reigning UMAC Casey Hovland who qualified for and competed at the NCAA Championships. Hovland has been even better this season and will look to defend her individual spot on the podium and lead her team to success.
This season, Hovland has placed in the top three as an individual in three races this season en route to three UMAC Runner of the Week awards. The junior owns the fastest time in the UMAC this season clocking a 21:57 at the Carleton College Pre-Region meet which features some of the top teams in the region. She should hold off the remainder of the field as looks to become the first back-to-back UMAC women’s cross country champion since Linda Keller of Minnesota Morris in 2012.
The Saints have also seen strong performances from senior Jordan Johnson who earned Runner of the Week after finishing at the top UMAC competitor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh meet Oct. 15 – another race highlighting the top regional programs. Johnson clocked a time of 23:52 that should put her in a spot to repeat as an all-conference finisher.
Minnesota Morris finished as the runner up a year ago, but lost a wealth of talent due to graduation and were picked third in the UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll behind the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Both teams have a solid core of runners who could challenge the Saints and make the fight for first through third in the team standings even more intriguing.
The Cougars have had solid performances by experience veterans Katherine Novak and Elisabeth Anderson who placed 18th and 25th, respectively, in 2015. The two have shared responsibilities as the team’s lead runners but Anderson boasts a time of 23:49 from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Tori Neubauer Invitational, while Novak owns a time of 24:43 from the St. Olaf College meet.
For the Yellowjackets, Kelli Praska had a breakout rookie season placing second individual to lead her squad to a third-place finish behind the Cougars. This season, Praska has continued to lead the team with a season-best time of 24:16.2 at the Carleton meet and earned Runner of the Week honors once. They will also rely on Alyssa Bohytari who clocked a season-best time of 25:47 at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh outing.
Following the top three team, Bethany Lutheran College should be poised for a repeat fourth-place finish as predicted in the Preseason Poll. They will rely heavily on the talents of All-UMAC veteran Megan Sauer who has been at her very best this season. The senior clocked a time of 23:56 at the Tori Neubauer event and she was also the top UMAC finisher at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Meet.
Martin Luther College was picked to finish fifth early on and should get a strong showing from Sydney Cody who earned Runner of the Week honors and placed 20th at the championships last year. Rachel Winter was also the team’s top finisher at the St. Olaf meet and could help the team push for the top four.
The University of Northwestern finished just six points in the Preseason Poll behind the Knights and could battle for the fifth position behind solid running from first-years Claire Sulflow and Jane Hulterstrum who have led the team all season. Sulflow earned Runner of the Week this fall and clocked a time of 25:42 at St. Olaf.
Crown College and North Central University tied for seventh in the polls, while Northland College finished in ninth. The three teams should be competitive with each having a leader throughout the year. Crown has relied on Mackenzie Nelson who led the team at their home meet Oct. 15 with a time of 25:44. North Central should receive a top performance from Raen Barcelon and Northland will need Marley Pietz to step up to lead the squad.
Both the men’s and women’s championship races will take place this Saturday, Oct. 29 in Benson. The men’s race is set to begin at 12 p.m. followed by the women’s race at 1 p.m. All championship information can be found on the
championships website.