Martin Luther picked to three-peat in UMAC Women's Cross Country
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The two-time defending Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women’s cross country champions Martin Luther College were tabbed to make it a three-peat as the Knights took the top spot in the preseason poll conducted by UMAC women’s cross country head coaches. Bethany Lutheran College and UW-Superior appear to be the top challengers for the Knights this fall, rounding out the top three spots in the 2023 preseason poll.
| Institution |
Total Number of Points |
| Martin Luther College (7) |
49 points |
| Bethany Lutheran College |
42 points |
| University of Wisconsin-Superior (1) |
38 points |
| University of Minnesota Morris |
28 points |
| North Central University |
23 points |
| Crown College |
18 points |
| Northland College |
14 points |
| University of Northwestern |
12 points |
| (#) Number of First-Place Votes |
|
Collecting seven of the possible eight first-place votes, Martin Luther is the front-runner for the 2023 UMAC title. The Knights dominated the 2022 UMAC championship, owning three of the top six finishers and five all-conference selections crossing the finish line in the Top 15 spots. Bethany Lutheran was tabbed to finish second this fall as the Vikings recorded a second place team finish a year ago and return several key contributors from their 2022 squad. UW-Superior picked up the only other first-place vote and landed in the third spot in the preseason poll. The Yellowjackets finished in third in the UMAC championship last season and are focusing on securing the program’s first ever UMAC women’s cross country championship.
Martin Luther College head coach Breanna Olson, the 2022 UMAC Coach of the Year Award winner, welcomes back a host of top talent to the Knights roster in 2023 including the individual UMAC champion a year ago in junior Maya Habben. A two-time first-team all-conference performer, Habben aims to defend her individual title and claim the top spot once again in 2023. A pair of second-team all-conference selections from last year will also fuel the Knights success this season as junior Claire Tomhave and senior Leah Nushart will look to improve upon their 11
th and 15
th place finishes respectively at the 2022 UMAC championship.
If Bethany Lutheran College is able to knock off the Knights and claim their first ever UMAC championship, it will likely be done with junior Kayla Tobin leading the way. Tobin boasts first-team all-conference accolades from the 2021 and 2022 seasons, finishing first (individual champion) and fourth individually in her two previous UMAC championship races. Senior second-team all-conference honoree Jordan Merwin will also help lead the Viking program as Merwin finished 10
th in the UMAC a year ago and has her sights set on moving up the leaderboard in 2023.
UW-Superior returns all but one of their runners from a year ago and welcomes six new competitors in 2023. The Yellowjackets will be paced by senior Meagan Berg and junior Halle Barker. Both individuals earned second-team all-conference honors in 2022 with their 9
th and 12
th place finishes respectively overall, also representing the top two finishers from the UW-Superior team in last year’s UMAC championship event.
A pair of first-year head coaches in Emily Hoesing from the University of Minnesota Morris and Paul Theorin from North Central University were selected to lead the middle pack of teams as the Cougars landed in fourth place in the poll while the Rams hold the fifth spot. Crown College (6
th), Northland College (7
th) and the University of Northwestern (8
th) rounded out the list of teams aiming to move up the conference standings in their 2023 campaign.
The 2023 UMAC women’s cross country championship will take place on Saturday, October 28, at Winthrop Golf Course (Minn.). The season gets underway later this week with the first official races scheduled for Friday, September 1.
TEAM CAPSULES AND NOTES FOR EACH UMAC TEAM
Bethany Lutheran College
Michael Dunn, Head Coach | 9th Season
2022 Season
2
nd at UMAC Championships | 69 points
Top Returning Runners
Kayla Tobin, Junior | UMAC All-Conference | 2022 Championships: 4
th, 25:18.4, 1
st on team
Jordan Merwin, Senior | UMAC All-Conference | 2022 Championships: 11
th, 26:20.80, 2
nd on team
Angela Zaccaria, Junior | 2022 Championships: 27
th, 28:44.6, 5
th on team
Crown College
Grant DeWitt, Head Coach | 1
st Season
2022 Season
No Team Score (Inc.)
Top Returning Runners
Greta Greniger, Junior | 2022 Championships: 47
th, 31:11
Martin Luther College
Breanna Olson, Head Coach | 4
th Season
2022 Season
1
st at UMAC Championship | 35 points
Top Returning Runners
Maya Habben, Junior | 2021, 2022 First Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 1
st overall in 6K, 24:35.9, 1
st on team
Claire Tomhave, Junior | 2022 Second Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 12
th overall in 6K, 26:47.3, 2
nd on team
Leah Nushart, Senior | 2021, 2022 Second Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 16
th overall, 27:06.9, 5th on team
Katelyn Mensching, Junior – 17
th overall at 2022 UMAC Championships
North Central University
Paul Theorin, Head Coach | 1
st Season
2022 Season
4
th at UMAC Championships | 103 points
Top Returning Runners
Brycelyn Brewster, Sophomore | 2022 Championships: 8th, 25:53.8, # 2nd
Arieana Hayton, Sophomore | 2022 Championships: 35th, 29:34.2, # 4th
Katie Fox, Junior | 2022 Championships: 53rd, 32:31.4, # 5th
Northland College
Kale Adams, Head Coach | 2
nd Season
2022 Season
7
th at UMAC Championship | 188 points
Top Returning Runners
Alex Espinoza, Senior | 2022 Championships: 29th, 29:30, #1 team finisher
Josie Fritz, Sophomore | 2022 Championships: 35th, 30:25, #2 team finisher
Ruby Borden, Freshman | 2022 Championships: 38th, 33:31, #3 team finisher
University of Minnesota Morris
Emily Hoesing, Head Coach | 1
st Season
2022 Season
5
th at UMAC Championships | 112 points
Top Returning Runners
Ilsa Hoaglund, Junior | First Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 6th, 26:36.9, #1 team finisher
Zoe Hoaglund, Junior | Second Team All-UMAC | 2022 Championships: 9th, 26:12.3, #2 team finisher
Abby Hachmeister, Junior | 2022 Championships: 42nd, 30:22.9, #5 team finisher
University of Northwestern
Steve Thiessen, Head Coach | 32
nd Season
2022 Season
6
th Place at UMAC Championship | 139 Points
Top Returning Runners
Caroline Ringsmuth, Sophomore | 2022 UMAC 2
nd Team All-Conference | 2022 Championships: 14
th overall, 27:01, First team finisher
Kirti Asterlund, Junior | 2022 Championships: 42
nd overall, 36:41, Fourth Team Finisher
UW-Superior
Glen Drexler, Head Coach | 14
th Season
2022 Season
3
rd Place at UMAC Championship | 82 points
Top Returning Runners
Meagan Berg, Senior | All-UMAC Second Team | 2022 Championships: 10th, team-leading 26:17
Halle Barker, Junior | All-UMAC Second Team | 2022 Championships: 13th, team-second 26:50
Kimmie Downing, Sophomore | 2022 Championships: 20th, team-third 27:26