WINTHROP, Minn. - This Saturday, November 2, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women's Cross Country Championship will take place at 11:00am at the Winthrop Golf Club where all eight conference teams will compete in a 6k for the conference title.
All important information for spectators including parking, concessions, course maps, and event schedule are available on the
championship page.
Championship History
- Last season, the University of Wisconsin-Superior won their first UMAC Championship in program history. The Yellowjackets ran an average time of 24:28.9 and had a team score of 43 to win the 2023 title. UWS was led by Cora Hudella, who was the Individual Champion with a time of 23:02.5.
- Martin Luther College was the runner-up at the 2023 UMAC Championship with a team score of 61. The Knights we led by Maya Happen, who placed sixth overall with a time of 24:36.7. MLC had won the two previous UMAC Championships in 2021 and 2022.
- The most recent current UMAC member besides UW-Superior or Martin Luther to win the team championship was University of Minnesota Morris, who last won the title in 2014 with 19 points.
This Season
- Ella Dufault of the Crown College Polars has the top 6k time this season in the UMAC. The Polars’ sophomore ran the 6k in 23:33.2 at the Carleton Running of the Cows on October 5, setting the top UMAC time this fall. Default has won four of the six UMAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week awards this season. At last year’s conference championship, Dufault was the runner-up for the Individual Championship by 13.1 seconds.
- Simone Stephens leads the defending-champion Yellowjackets into the championship this weekend. In her first year competing on the cross country team, Stephens has the top 6k time for UW-Superior this fall, running a 23:40.8 at the Augustana Interregional Invitational on October 19. Stephens has won a UMAC Athlete of the Week award this season.
- Seven of the eight UMAC teams competed at the St. Olaf Invitational on September 21. At that meet, UW-Superior had the top UMAC finish with a total time of 2:12:20. Martin Luther had the second-best UMAC team time at 2:14:23. Crown had the third-best team time for a UMAC team at 2:15:15.
2024 Top Times (6k) by Team
| School |
Name |
Time |
| Bethany Lutheran |
Brooklyn Hart |
24:00.1 |
| Crown |
Ella Dufault |
23:33.2 |
| Martin Luther |
Jemimah Habben |
24:07.9 |
| Minnesota Morris |
Sylvia Pesch |
25:21.0 |
| North Central |
Avah Kraushaar |
27:01.7 |
| Northland |
Morgan Hockemeyer |
35:07.5 |
| Northwestern |
Emery Maki |
23:55.7 |
| Wisconsin-Superior |
Simone Stephens |
23:40.8 |
2024 Preseason Coaches Poll
1. UW-Superior | 47 (5)
2. Martin Luther | 43 (3)
3. Crown | 36
4. Northwestern | 30
5. Bethany Lutheran | 24
6. Minnesota Morris | 23
7. North Central | 14
8. Northland | 7
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.