This week: The Augustana women's and men's cross country teams finish up regular season competition on Saturday at the Mount Marty Invitational in Yankton, S.D. The women will race at 10:30 a.m., while the men start at 11:15 a.m.
The Mount Marty Invitational: The Mount Marty Invitational features a mix of NAIA and NCAA Division II schools. The men will run an 8K course, while the women will run a 5K route. The course is a flat, grassy surface.
Head Coach Tracy Hellman on the Chile Pepper...
"This meet will serve as our final tune-up before we enter the championship season, which begins with the NSIC Championships Nov. 6 in Wayne Neb. Saturday's race should be another quality test for our program." |
Last time out: The men earned a 12th-place finish, while the women were 16th at the Chile Pepper Festival held last Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. The meet featured a host of NCAA Division I programs.
Runa Falch recorded the highest individual finish of the day for the Vikings. She came in 19th after running the 5K course in 17:25.78.
Travis Beniak was the top finisher for the men as he posted a 63rd-place finish after finishing in 31:07.64 on the 10K course. To check out how the rest of the Vikings did, click
here.
Conference honors: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Tuesday that
Runa Falch has been named the women's cross country Athlete of the Week after her performance in last Saturday's Chile Pepper Festival. Falch, a native of Steinkjer, Norway, recorded the highest individual finish of the day for Augustana on Saturday at the Chile Pepper Festival held in Fayetteville, Ark., placing 19th after running the 5K course in 17:25.78. Falch led the Vikings to a 16th place finish. The meet featured a host of Division I programs.
Athletes of the Week: Though Augustana has competed in just two meets this season, the Vikings have had two NSIC Athletes of the Week. Besides
Runa Falch picking up the honors this week,
Matt Braithwaite also earned the accolade on Sept. 28.
National news: The men are ranked 13th, and the women are 18th in the lastest 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.
Just around the corner: The Vikings' bid for another NSIC title is just a couple of weeks off. On Nov. 6, Augustana will run at the NSIC Championships in Wayne, Neb. A title for the women would be their third straight, while a win for the men would be their second in a row.
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 begin postseason action at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships in Wayne, Neb., on Nov. 6.
Who's running this weekend:
