The NCC Cross Country Championships were held at North Links golf course this past Saturday in Mankato, Minn. Conditions couldn’t have been worse as the temps were hanging in the mid 30’s with winds howling around 30-40 mph. This made the wind chill factor around 20 degrees. With every championship race, there is always things that surprise you. This year would be no different.
Men:The men started the championship portion at 11:00 a.m. The temperature was still very cold and the winds were not subsiding when the gun went off. The teams that were to give the Vikings the stiffest challenge was Minnesota State and South Dakota. The first mile was slow with a large pack forming near the front. MSU had a majority of their pack up front and we had our guys positioned a few yards behind the large pack.
With no one choosing to lead, the pace was soon taken by
Luke Baltrusch. Luke opened up the lead with each step and by halfway, he had a comfortable 10 second gap. As the course wound throughout the golf course, the wind continued to punish the front-running charge of Baltrusch.
Unfortunately, the pack behind Luke was working together, trading the lead and conserving energy for the finishing charge. Baltrusch tied up in the last bit of the course and was passed by three runners at the line.
Meanwhile our pack of runners were fighting the weather and competition behind Luke.
Zack Kiesow was running a decent race and was working on keeping pace with a pack of runners from USD. Right behind him was
Chad Backsen,
Rob Ihry,
Paal Solbu, and
Jon Francis forming a good pack.
The weather would not give the runners an opportunity to make decisive moves and the position of the runners stayed the same throughout. We still placed 10 runners in the top 33 as
Jarvis Jelen,
Pete Smith, and
Amil Anderson were right behind our second pack.
Although we showed the best depth out of any team in the Conference, we placed 4th in the field. The other teams in front of us displayed more runners in the top 15 and that led to our team score. We should be excited that we are very close to those teams with our men having a bit of an off day. Come November 6th , at the Regional Meet, we will be ready and peaked to run our best race and contend for a spot at the NCAA National Championships.
Women:Our women had one of the best performances in the history of Augustana Cross Country. We were mentally and physically prepared going into the race that we could run with the best in the Conference. Our goal was to run to the front and show teams that we have the talent and ability to place well. Our fans were very excited and got the adrenaline going for our women before the race.
When the gun fired, our women placed themselves in the position that we could be successful at. With a very slow first mile, the pack was very large. But leading the way was the trio of
Sara Hayes,
Rachel Stangler and
Jessica Pape. As the race began to spread out during the back section of the course, our dominance up front would continue to grow as Sara and Rachel took turns in the lead. Jessica faded a bit but was still running in the top 10.
Kirsten Higdem and
Tania Arens were working together well in the middle of the pack and were moving up as the race unfolded. As the leaders passed the 4k mark by the finish line, the lead pack had dwindled to three runners:
Sara Hayes,
Rachel Stangler, and Aimee Nielson.
Kirsten Higdem was moving up throughout the race and
Tania Arens was holding our No. 5 spot on our team.
As the leaders began to turn toward the finish line the pace quickened. Rachel and Aimee Nielson had broken free a bit and were battling for the victory. At 600 meters from the finish, Rachel had broken into the lead; a lead she would not relinquish. Nielson tied up the last 200 meters and Sara took this opportunity to pass her coming into the finish.
The 1-2 finish of
Rachel Stangler and
Sara Hayes was one of the best conference finishes the women’s team has ever had. Coming into the finish not far off in 11th place was true freshman
Jessica Pape. She was the top freshman in the conference and ran an outstanding race. Next in was
Kirsten Higdem, running her best race of the year. Rounding out the scoring was
Tania Arens, running the best race of her career.
Margaret Osgood ran her best race of the season and
Mairead Kelly and
Kelly O’Shea ran well despite being slowed down with illness.
All in all, it was a very successful day for the Viking women at the NCC Championships!
Coming into our last competition, things are in place for us to have a successful finish. People are coming on in terms of fitness and our depth is getting better with each practice. To qualify for the National Championships, the men must place in the top 6 and the women need to place in the top 5. Challenging goals……but very possible.
This past weekend was a good stepping stone for the NCAA Regional Meet and the level of competition will be even better and more intense. Stay tuned to GoAugie.com………the best is yet to come!
Tracy Hellman
Head Cross Country & Track
