St. Scholastica places seven on UMAC women's cross country all-conference list
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Sholastica had six runners finish in the top seven at the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's cross country championship to headline the 16-person all-conference awards list, while individual champion Katherine Novak of the University of Minnesota Morris topped the list announced Monday.
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Women's Results |
Championship Site |
Novak capped off a strong career with her first-ever individual title and her third-straight UMAC all-conference finish Satruday. The senior completed the 6,000-meter course with a time of 23:29.3 to lead the Cougars to a second-place finish.
Under the direction of Head Coach Chad Salmela, the four-peat Saints scored just 20 points which was 53 better than runner-up Minnesota Morris. For his efforts, Salmela was recognized by his peers as the UMAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third year in a row.
In addition to Novak, 15 other UMAC student-athletes were recognized for their finishes in Benson, Minnesota, Saturday. All-UMAC First Team honors were awarded to the top eight finishers while the next eight were honored with All-UMAC Second Team nods.
The Saints led the group with six runners earning First Team recognition and one other named Second Team. Nicole Gilman, Lauren Dynek and Elizabeth Poskie were all repeat honorees on the All-UMAC squad for the Saints with Gilman picking up third place for the third-consecutive fall.
Runner-up Minnesota Morris totaled three awards with Novak leading the pack and two others taking Second Team awards. Bethany Lutheran College and Martin Luther College each had two individuals place in the top 16. The Vikings' Sarah Presler and the Knights' Leah Miller were both repeat All-UMAC finishers, while Crown College junior Mackenzie Nelson earned her third-straight all-conference nod.
Bethany Lutheran won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
2018 Individual Champion - Katherine Novak, Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year - Chad Salmela, St. Scholastica
2018 UMAC Women's Cross Country All-Conference First Team
| Place |
Name |
School |
Time |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 1st |
Katherine Novak |
Minnesota Morris |
23:29.3 |
Sr. |
Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park |
| 2nd |
Aria Plewa |
St. Scholastica |
23:54.4 |
So. |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| 3rd |
Nicole Gilman |
St. Scholastica |
24:20.5 |
Jr. |
Manitowish Waters, Wis./Lakeland Union |
| 4th |
Lexi Erickson |
St. Scholastica |
24:26.7 |
So. |
International Falls, Minn./Falls |
| 5th |
Hannah Bettendorf |
St. Scholastica |
24:30.9 |
Fy. |
Duluth, Minn./Homeschool |
| 6th |
Lauren Dynek |
St. Scholastica |
24:35.2 |
So. |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| 7th |
Elizabeth Poskie |
St. Scholastica |
24:42.9 |
Jr.. |
Cotton, Minn./South Ridge |
| 8th |
Leah Miller |
Martin Luther |
24:50.7 |
So. |
Maryville, Tenn./Luther Prep |
2018 UMAC Women's Cross Country All-Conference Second Team
| Place |
Name |
School |
Time |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 9th |
Paige Stearns |
Minnesota Morris |
24:51.5 |
So. |
Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge |
| 10th |
Kaitlyn Ladwig |
Minnesota Morris |
24:52.2 |
So. |
Granite Falls, Minn./Yellow Medicine East |
| 11th |
Alison Mortier |
St. Scholastica |
24:52.7 |
Fy. |
Marshall, Minn./Marshall |
| 12th |
Mackenzie Nelson |
Crown |
24:55.3 |
Jr. |
Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor |
| 13th |
Morgan Sauer |
Bethany Lutheran |
25:05.4 |
Sr. |
Lismore, Minn./Adrian |
| 14th |
Sarah Presler |
Bethany Lutheran |
25:12.0 |
So. |
Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley |
| 15th |
Sydney Cody |
Martin Luther |
25:14.2 |
.Sr. |
Juneau, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran |
| 16th |
Nicole Koski |
Wisconsin-Superior |
25:21.4 |
Fy. |
Park Falls, Wis./Chequamegon |
2018 UMAC Women's Cross Country Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Bethany Lutheran
Bethany Lutheran - Brianna Soutthivong, Jr., Mountain Lake, Minn./Mountain Lake
Crown - Marina Schwanke, So., Spring Valley, Minn./Kingsland
Martin Luther - Sydney Cody, Sr., Juneau, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Kelsey Menze, Sr., Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee
North Central - Bri Griffin, Sr., Reedsburg, Wis./Reedsburg
Northland - Trisha Bachmeier, Jr., Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake
Northwestern - .Tamara Ehrich, Fy., Green Isle, Minn./Sibley East
St. Scholastica - Lexi Erickson, So., International Falls, Minn./Falls
Wisconsin-Superior - Hannah Kivela, So., Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing