MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS
JOPLIN, Mo. – Augustana women’s cross country came just three points shy of repeating as national champions, finishing second at the NCAA Championships at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. on Saturday afternoon. The Viking men will bring home its highest finish in school history with a fourth-place performance in the men’s 10,000-meter race.
Augustana Women Recap
Augustana’s women netted 104 team points, just three points shy of national champion Grand Valley State (101), and five points ahead of third-place finisher Adams State (Colo.) (109). Augustana had six runners earn All-America honors, including Runa Falch, Kristin Brondbo, Leah Black, Kyle Blakeslee, Travis Beniak and Adam Braun. Augustana nearly placed three women’s runners in the top 10 with Falch finishing eighth overall with a time of 20:39 in the women’s 6,000-meter run. Brondbo was the 10th-place finisher at 20:53 just ahead of teammate Leah Black, who brings home an 11th-place performance finishing the course in 20:56. Blakeslee registered a 40th-place finish crossing the tape in 21:32. Annie Pfeifle finished 57th individually with a time of 21:40 followed by Molly Kokesh who finished 181st in 23:04 and Gabi Swoboda who placed 218th in 23:59.
University of Mary Women Recap
All-American performances by seniors Melissa Agnew and Dakota Wolf at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships led the University of Mary to 13th place nationally in the team standings. This was the Marauders fourth straight trip to the NCAA championships, and Agnew and Wolf were part of each appearance. Earning NCAA All-American honors for the third straight year, Agnew finished seventh in the nation, her best performance ever. The senior from Onamia, MN, crushed the course in a time of 20:29.9. Running eighth at the halfway point, Agnew increased her pace and improved a slot in the standings. She was the top performer among Northern Sun student-athletes. Agnew placed 17th in 2011. Wolf picked up All-American honors for the second straight season. A native of Dickinson, ND, Wolf claimed 29th overall. She traversed the trail in 21:11.0. Running third for the Marauders was Alicia Nehl. The senior from Watauga, SD, placed 41st overall and just missed All-American status by one place and two seconds. Running 60th at the halfway point she passed 19 runners in the second half of the race. After placing 128th a year ago in her first national meet, Nehl closes out her career with a time of 21:25.2. Sarah Grimm and Kayla Carlson rounded out the team scoring for the Marauders. Grimm placed 177th overall in a time of 23:02.6. Carlson, making her third appearance at the NCAA championships, ran a 23:07.6 to finish 183. Kelsey Lambrecht and Nicole Huelsman finished back-to-back but didn’t score for U-Mary. Lambrecht (24:10.7) placed 227th and Huelsman (24:19.6) was 228th.
Winona State Women Recap
In her last race in a Warrior uniform, senior Kayla Gudmundson broke the school’s individual meet record by 14 seconds as the Winona State women’s cross country team finished ninth at the NCAA Championship Saturday in Joplin, Mo. Gudmundson placed 30th with a time of 21:11, her best career time by 46 seconds. The showing also bettered the school record of 21:25 set by teammate Jessica Young two weeks ago at the NCAA Regional Championship. Young was second for the Warriors Saturday, placing 35th with a time of 21:13, the second-best t ime in WSU history. Jordan Skelly posted a time of 21:56, the third-best in school history to finish 75th. Jordan Paschke’s time of 22:29 is the 16th-fastest time for a Warrior runner as well. As a team Winona State was ninth in its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Grand Valley State won the team title while Adams State’s Alicia Nelson won the individual championship.
Augustana Men Recap
Adams State ran away with the title earning 34 team points finishing ahead of Colorado School of Mines (102), Alaska Anchorage (148) and Augustana (182). Beniak hung with the top pack the entire race en route to his 10th-place finish with a time of 29:32, helping Augustana to its highest national finish in school history. Augustana has now finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships four straight seasons. Braun crossed the finish-line in 24th-place with a finishing time of 30:09. Harald Karbo delivered a 58th-place finish for the Vikings with a time of 30:49. Nathan Hauge finished with a time of 30:53, which was good for a 64th-place result. Shane McCallum ran the 10k course in 30:55 to finish 66th while Paul Yak crossed the finish line in 68th position with a time of 30:57. TJ Gleason was the 91st-place finisher with a time of 31:21.
Minnesota State Men Recap
Making its first appearance at the national meet since 2008, the Minnesota State men's cross country team posted a 20th-pace finish at the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship Saturday morning in Joplin, Mo. Top-seeded Adams State won this championship with 34 points. The Mavericks combined for 498 points in finishing 20th. There we a total of 32 schools competing at the meet which was held at the 10,000-meter cross country course on the campus of Missouri Southern State University. The Mavericks were led by junior Joshua Mellman, who finished 73rd in the individual team standings with a time of 31:15.5. Other Minnesota State individuals included junior Devin Allbaugh, who placed 79th (31:25.7), sophomore Josiah Swanson (105th, 31:44.0), senior Jacob Bastyr (118th, 31:52.7), junior Jacob Ball (123rd, 31:56.6), sophomore Matthew Stocker (185th, 33:02.0) and senior Garrett Ekloff (195th, 33:09.04).
USF's Brockmueller Recap
Sioux Falls redshirt sophomore Billy Brockmueller made history as USF’s first NCAA Championship participant Saturday when he competed in the NCAA DII Cross Country Championship in Joplin, Mo. Running on behalf of the 32nd-ranked Cougars’ as an individual, Brockmueller clocked a 31:30.4 to place 100th overall out of 245 competitors in the men’s 10,000 meter race. Brockmueller got off to a strong start with a 15:09 mark in the first half of the race, but a 16:21.4 second half pace set him back 10 spots on the final leaderboard. Brockmueller caps an impressive 2012 campaign which included three top-10 finishes, an individual title, All-Conference and All-Regional recognition, and his first NCAA Championship appearance. He was also a national qualifier at the NAIA level in 2010 as a true freshman.