WINTHROP, Minn. – The University of Wisconsin-Superior won the 2023 UMAC Women’s Cross Country Championship at the Winthrop Golf Course on Saturday. The championship title is the first in program history for the Yellowjackets. Wisconsin-Superior won the championship with a team score of 43 points and an average time of 24:28.9.
Cora Hudella led the way for the Yellowjackets as the sophomore placed first overall, winning the Individual Championship with a time of 23:02.5; the fastest UMAC championship-winning time since Casey Hovland, an All-American for St. Scholastica, won her third consecutive individual title in 2017 with a time of 21:52.0. In her championship-winning run, Hudella bested her previous career personal record of 23:59.1 by 56.6 seconds and beat this fall season's previous top UMAC time of 23:44.5 by 42.0 seconds.
Three Yellowjackets finished in the top five overall and all five counted runners finished in the top 20. Halle Barker placed third overall with a time of 23:44.9. Tea Boerner took fifth place, running a 24:11.4. Lilley Smith placed 16
th with a time of 25:33.2. Meagan Berg, who led UWS in last year’s 2022 championship with a 27:14.1 finish, ran a 25:52.7 to clinch the 2023 championship for the Yellowjackets.
Following back-to-back championship titles in 2021 and 2022, Martin Luther College finished as the runner-up this year with 61 points, averaging a time of 25:12.6. Maya Habben led the Knights, placing sixth overall with a time of 24:36.7. Katelyn Mensching had a top-ten finish for MLC, running a 25:00.1 to place tenth.
Crown College took third place as a team, finishing with 113 points with an average time of 26:34.3. The Polars were led by Ella Dufault, who placed second overall with a personal season-best time of 23:15.6. Her time in the championship bested this fall's previous top UMAC time by 28.9 seconds, which would have positioned her for the top time of the year were it not for Hudella breaking the same mark 13.1 seconds faster.
Final Team Results
| Name |
Score |
Top Finisher |
| 1. Wisconsin-Superior |
43 |
Cora Hudella (23:02.5) – 1st Overall |
| 2. Martin Luther |
61 |
Maya Habben (24:36.7) – 6th Overall |
| 3. Crown |
113 |
Ella Dufault (23:15.6) – 2nd Overall |
| 4. Bethany Lutheran |
116 |
Kayla Tobin (24:55.4) – 9th Overall |
| 5. Minnesota Morris |
122 |
Sylvia Pesch (25:05.2) – 11th Overall |
| 6. Northwestern |
123 |
Caroline Ringsmuth (24:44.3) – 7th Overall |
| 7. North Central |
155 |
Brycelyn Brewster (23:57.6) – 4th Overall |
| 8. Northland |
187 |
Amelia Wiesner (25:41.2) – 17th Overall |
Top-Ten Finishers
| Name |
Team |
Time |
| 1. Cora Hudella |
Wisconsin-Superior |
23:02.5 |
| 2. Ella Dufault |
Crown |
23:15.6 |
| 3. Halle Barker |
Wisconsin-Superior |
23:44.9 |
| 4. Brycelyn Brewster |
North Central |
23:57.6 |
| 5. Tea Boerner |
Wisconsin-Superior |
24:11.4 |
| 6. Maya Habben |
Martin Luther |
24:36.7 |
| 7. Caroline Ringsmuth |
Northwestern |
24:44.3 |
| 8. Megan Friedrichs |
Northwestern |
24:49.8 |
| 9. Kayla Tobin |
Bethany Lutheran |
24:55.4 |
| 10. Katelyn Mensching |
Martin Luther |
25:00.1 |