MOORHEAD, Minn. - The Augustana men's cross country team graduated four of its top-five runners from last season, but that didn't matter as the Vikings ran away with another NSIC title on Saturday afternoon at the Moorhead Soccer Complex in Moorhead, Minn.

The Augustana men's top five runners placed in the top-11 and scored 36 points, 62 points in front of the second place team Minnesota Duluth (98).

"I'm super excited about what our men did today winning their ninth straight title," Tracy Hellman said of his men's performance today. "Winning championships are never easy and this was a challenge to our team with all the new faces running their first championship. I thought the men executed the race perfect and we really had a great pack. We are measured by how our pack does, and today was a team championship effort. What makes our men's team so tough is that we have interchangeable parts. We have a new number one runner order of lineup each meet."

The Augustana women finished in third with 75 points and had four runners earn All-NSIC honors. U-Mary took home the team title with 30 points and Minnesota Duluth took second with 74 points.

Leading the men was redshirt freshman Alec Kray who took third overall with a time of 24:48.0. Kray's performance netted him NSIC Newcomer of the Year honors and was the highest freshman finishing male at the NSIC Championships since 2006.

Kray on the importance of his team's outing on Saturday, "this meet was such a confidence booster as we start to prepare for regionals. I think we were able to make a good statement, but we have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks."

Rounding out the men's scoring was Aaron Runge (fifth), Logan Burns (eighth), Sean Heaton (ninth) and Jesus Urtusuastegui (11th).

On the women's side, Mackenzie Kelly led the Vikings with a time of 21:32.0 and recorded a sixth place finish. Finishing out the Vikings scoring was Emily Tromp (11th), Leah Seivert (17th), Cassidy Soli (20th) and Courtney Hottovy (21st).

Tromp earn NSIC Newcomer of the Year honors on the women's side. Head coach Tracy Hellman was named NSIC Men's Coach of the Year for the ninth consecutive season.

Tromp on her team's performance on Saturday, "I thought the team put in a good effort today and we're ready to work hard and come back even stronger for regionals." The next action for Vikings following the NSIC Championships will be the NCAA Central Regional in Kearney, Neb. on Saturday, Nov. 4th at the Kearney Country Club. The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Angel Mounds in Evansville, Ind.