WAYNE, Neb. -- The start of championship season is a big success for the Augustana men's cross country team, taking home both the NSIC team title and individual medalist honors on Saturday at the Wayne Country Club in Wayne, Nebraska. Viking senior Aaron Runge won the individual title with a first-place finish in 25:03

The Augustana men have now won 10-of-11 NSIC team titles. Five Viking student-athletes earned All-Conference honors, including Aaron Runge (1st), Jesus Urtusuastegui (1st) Austin Miller (1st), Nathan Schroeder (1st), and Skylar DeJong (2nd).
 
The Augustana women finished as the NSIC runner-up, and the teams top finisher was junior Claire Boersma with a third-place finish. Seven Viking women head home with all conference honors: Claire Boersma (1st), Cair Savey (1st), Nicolette Schmidt (1st), Rebekah Rairdon (1st), Haylee Waterfall (2nd), Patty Jo English (2nd), and Rachel Rairdon (2nd). 

Augustana Cross Country head coach Tracy Hellman is proud of his program's performance and looking to build on the championship momentum.

"Super excited for our men," Hellman said. "They had a mission today and were determined to win that title against some really good NSIC teams. Not what we wanted with the women, but the best thing about that is we have another opportunity coming up in two weeks."

Individually, Augustana was led by a strong effort from senior Aaron Runge, who captured the league title in time of 25:03.98. The championship marks the first for the Vikings since Glen Ellingson claimed back-to-back title in 2015-16. 

Jesus Urtusuastegui finished in fourth (25:33) and was followed by a strong performance by Austin Miller in sixth (25:57). Nathan Schroeder (26:02) ran solid for a seventh place finish, Skylar DeJong finished in 19th (26:40), and Henry Klitzke (24th, 26:52) and Evan Johnson (26th, 26:59) rounded out the Viking results.

The Augustana women had a strong performance with seven finishers in the top-14. Claire Boersma led the charge with the third-place finish (22:21.10) and Cait Savey (22:21.70) was a step behind her in 4th. Nicolette Schmidt ran hard for a ninth place finish (22:48), and Rebekah Rairdon (22:49) and Haylee Waterfall (22:53) followed her in 11th and 12th. Patty Jo English (22:52) calimed 13th in the conference, and Rachel Rairdon (22:53) was the 14th place finisher. 

Viking now race in the NCAA Regionals Nov. 9 in Joplin, Missouri. The top three team advance to the NCAA Championships.