This week: The Augustana women's and men's cross country teams begin postseason action in Wayne, Neb., at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship on Saturday. The men will start at 11 a.m., while the women's race begins at noon.
The NSIC Championshps: The NSIC Championships is hosted by Wayne State and will be run at the Wayne Country Club. The men will run an 8K course, while the women will run a 6K track. WSC has set up a home page for the Championships. Click
here to view the men's page; click
here to view the women's page.
Head Coach Tracy Hellman on the NSIC...
"I feel we are in a good position, and our kids are confident in their ability. We also realize that it will be a very difficult challenge with the quality schools and athletes that will be competing. We are looking forward to the opportunity." |
Last time out: The women's cross country team finished second and the men finished 11th at the Mount Marty Invitational on Oct. 23 in Yankton, S.D. The Vikings'
Runa Falch won the women's race by 20 seconds. Falch covered the 5K course in 17:38 to capture the women's title.
Paul Yak was the top men's performer as he finished third by trekking the 8K in 25:24. To see how the rest of the Vikings did, click
here.
Yak attack: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Oct. 25 that Augustana's
Paul Yak was named Athlete of the Week for men's cross country. Yak, a freshman from Storm Lake, Iowa, was the top men's performer for the Vikings at the Mount Marty Invite last Saturday as he finished third by trekking the 8K course in 25:24. Yak and the Vikings posted an 11th-place finish out of 21 teams competing in the event.
Athletes of the Week: Though Augustana has competed in just three meets this season, the Vikings have had three NSIC Athletes of the Week.
Matt Braithwaite,
Runa Falch and
Paul Yak have all picked up the honor.
A win on Saturday: If the women win the title Saturday at the NSIC Championship, it would be the Vikings' third consecutive conference crown. If the men win, it would be their second straight championship.
National news: The men are ranked 13th, and the women are 18th in the latest national rankings released Wednesday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. To view this week's complete national rankings, click
here. To view a week-by-week breakdown of where Augustana has been ranked, click
here.
Regionally speaking: The Augustana men's and women's cross country teams are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Central Region Rankings released Tuesday. The Vikings made no movement from last week's rankings. To view this week's rankings, click
here. To view a week-by-week breakdown of the regional rankings, click
here.
According to the coaches: Augustana was selected as the preseason favorite for both women's and men's in the NSIC Coaches' Poll. The women received seven first-place votes and 97 points, while the men garnered nine first-place votes and 81 points. The poll was voted on by the conference's head coaches.
| Women's CC Preseason Poll |
| 1. |
Augustana (7) |
97 |
| 2. |
U-Mary (2) |
88 |
|
Minnesota Duluth (2) |
88 |
| 4. |
Minnesota State |
70 |
| 5. |
Winona State |
64 |
| 6. |
St. Cloud State |
48 |
| 7. |
MSU Moorhead |
44 |
| 8. |
Wayne State |
41 |
| 9. |
Northern State |
36 |
| 10. |
Bemidji State |
17 |
| 11. |
Concordia |
12 |
|
first-place votes in ( ) |
|
| Men's CC Preseason Poll |
| 1. |
Augustana (9) |
81 |
| 2. |
Minnesota State (1) |
73 |
| 3. |
St. Cloud State |
63 |
| 4. |
Minnesota Duluth |
52 |
| 5. |
MSU Moorhead |
45 |
| 6. |
Northern State |
39 |
|
Wayne State |
39 |
| 8. |
U-Mary |
33 |
| 9. |
Winona State |
17 |
| 10. |
Concordia |
10 |
|
first-place votes in ( ) |
|
Coaches' corner: Tracy Hellman is back for his 10th season as the head coach of the Augustana cross country program. He was last year's NSIC Cross Country Coach of the Year and led the both men and women to the conference title last season. Hellman is assisted by
Jim Vahrenkamp and
Chris Parno.
A look back: Augustana cross country had one of its best seasons in school history in 2009. Both the women and men took the title at the NSIC Championships, and both teams qualified for nationals, too, as the women were third at regionals, while the men were fifth. Nationally, the women placed 13th, while the men were 10th.
Up next: The Vikings continue postseason competition at the Central Regional in Wayne, Neb., on Nov. 20.
Who's running this weekend:
