2011 UMAC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. 48 Points - College of St. Scholastica (6 First Place Votes)
2. 40 Points - University of Minnesota, Morris (1)
3. 32 Points - North Central University
4. 30 Points - Bethany Lutheran College (1)
5. 27 Points - Martin Luther College
6. 24 Points - Northwestern College
7. 14 Points - Northland College
8. 9 Points - Crown College
ST. PAUL -- The College of St. Scholastica, who has won the last two Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men’s Cross Country Championships, was predicted to claim the UMAC title yet again in 2011, according to a poll of the league’s coaches. The Saints, who have won three UMAC championships in the last five years, earned six first place votes and beat second place University of Minnesota, Morris by eight points in the poll. All eight teams finished the poll in the same order as last year’s conference championship.
1. College of St. Scholastica Saints
2010 Conference Finish: 1st
Even though St. Scholastica head coach Steve Pfingsten lost some horses at the top of the lineup, he believes this might be his deepest and most-talented men’s team yet. Tony Bye returns for his senior season. Bye has finished no worse than 12th at the UMAC Championships in the previous three seasons. Ben Carlson also just missed being an All-UMAC selection last year finishing in 13th at the UMAC meet in his first attempt. Newcomers Alex Schoneberger will look to make an impact right from the start. Also, the addition of Nick Wanner, who ran track & field for the Saints in 2010-11, will make the Saints even deeper.
2. University of Minnesota, Morris Cougars
2010 Conference Finish: 2nd
A clear second choice by the UMAC coaches, Minnesota Morris finished with 32 points and one first place vote in the poll. The task for Cougars head coach Jeremy Karger Gatzow in 2011 will be to find a way to replace top guns Luke Toso and Andrew Rehmann. A runner-up finish by Toso led the Cougars to a second place finish as a team at the 2010 UMAC Championships. Morris had three runners cross the finish line in the top-ten last season, including Ian Philbrick in eighth and Rehmann in ninth. Philbrick is back for his senior season, as are Greg Schumacher and Matt Ellison who rounded out the Cougars five runners at last season’s UMAC Championships.
3. North Central University Rams
2010 Conference Finish: 3rd
Finishing with 32 points in the poll, returns its fastest man from last season and three other members of the Rams top seven from its 2011 UMAC third place squad. Senior Jeff Winkelman will look to follow up his All-UMAC 2010 performance while he chases the NCU school record he missed by 12 seconds during his junior campaign. Owen Hein, Isaac Van Proosdy, Tony Johns, and Jay Beichley give NCU a solid pack that should improve enough to keep the Rams competitive at the 2011 Conference Meet. The Rams have three other underclassmen who should take a run at the top seven.
4. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
2010 Conference Finish: 4th
Fourth place Bethany Lutheran looks to keep its streak of improvement alive going into the 2011 season. In its second year as a varsity program, the Vikings finished fourth in the 2010 UMAC Championships. While the loss of a few runners from last year could be a difficult setback, still look for a good season from returners David Blumer and Luke Meilner. Blumer expects to finish his collegiate career with his best season yet. The two-time All-Conference runner ended up fourth in the UMAC Championships last year. And now with more experience under his belt, Meilner hopes to make a name for himself in the UMAC in his sophomore season. With a few fresh runners added to the mix the men’s cross country team should keep things exciting and competitive in the UMAC.
5. Martin Luther College Knights
2010 Conference Finish: 5th
Martin Luther, who took fifth in the poll, must replace several key performers from last season’s team, but still hopes to compete at the top of the conference in 2011. Seniors Steve Pelischek and Nathan Schulte return for their fourth seasons, and will be looked upon for leadership. Joining them as returning performers will be Benjamin Weber, Ben BIrner, Jason Jooss and Michael Nocella.
6. Northwestern College Eagles
2010 Conference Finish: 6th
Sixth place Northwestern returns to the running path in 2011 with five of its six members who ran in the 2010 UMAC Championship. Derek Schlager and Jake Gifford, who finished 14th and 15th, respectively, at last year’s event, headline the Eagles squad. Schlager and Gifford both had one of their best performances of last year at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational, where they each finished with a sub-28 minute time on the 5k course. Also returning for Northwestern this season are Mitch Neuberger, Evan Nelson and Kevin Rotich, who will seek to improve upon their times to boost Northwestern from its sixth place finish a year ago.
7. Northland College LumberJacks
2010 Conference Finish: 7th
Northland is posed for an exciting season. With four seasoned runners returning as upper-classmen, Northland had to recruit several new runners to the squad. Transfer Adam Zais will lead the team. Zais had several great races while at UW Madison competing on the track club. This is definitely a building year with plenty of potential coming from young runners.
8. Crown College Storm
2010 Conference Finish: 8th
For the men, 2011 will balance the old and the new. Co-captains Vince Elmhorst and Simon Kulzer are joined by returning runner Aaron Howard. New runners include Phillip McBride, Robert McCandless, Abe Merboth, and Peter Schultz. “Our season will likely depend on how our new runners adjust to competing at the college level”, said coach Rick Peterson. “As they gain experience; I anticipate they will help each other to improve quickly. Our goal is to show steady progress throughout the season and improve our eighth place conference finish from a year ago.”
All eight teams will run in various races throughout September and October before meeting at Minneopa Golf Course in Mankato, Minn. for the 2011 UMAC Championship Race on October 29.