For Immediate Release
Monday, Nov. 10, 2014
NSIC Media Relations
Championship Website

NSIC / US Bank Women’s Cross Country Individual Champion
Sasha Hovind (Sophomore, Stirum, N.D. / North Sargent HS)
Northern State

Sasha Hovind became the Wolves’ first individual champion at the NSIC / US Bank Cross Country Championships since Stephanie Hengel in 1988, as she won the women’s 6K championship race on Saturday with a time of 21:19.75 to lead NSU to a sixth-place finish as a team. Hovind had a trio of second-place finishes on the season but saved her best for last as she finished nearly six seconds faster than MSU Moorhead’s Molly Montonye who placed second.

Rk	Team	Pts
1	Augustana (S.D.)	48*
2	Minnesota-Duluth	48*
3	Winona State	87
4	U-Mary	112
5	Msu-Moorhead	116
6	Northern State	169
7	Minnesota State	206
8	St. Cloud State	270
9	Minot State	283
10	Sioux Falls	287
11	SW Minnesota St.	294
12	Bemidji State	328
13	Concordia-St. Paul	347
14	Upper Iowa	380
15	Wayne St. (Neb.)	385

*Augustana and Minnesota Duluth tied for first in the women’s team standings, but an NCAA tie-breaker gave the Vikings the title. The Vikings’ first finisher, second finisher and fifth finisher had higher place finishers than UMD first, second and fifth finisher, giving the Vikings the majority and the tiebreaker.



NCAA Central Region Championship
The NCAA Central Regional Championship will take place on Saturday, November 22 in Wayne, Neb. The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, December 6 at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. in conjunction  with the NCAA Fall Sports Festival.

NSIC Team Notes
Augustana
Augustana regained their spot at the top of the conference as they won their sixth NSIC/US Bank Women’s Cross Country Team Championship in the past seven seasons.  The Vikings and Minnesota Duluth tied for first in the women’s team standings, but an NCAA tie-breaker gave the Vikings the title. The Vikings’ first finisher, second finisher and fifth finisher had higher place finishers than UMD first, second and fifth finisher, giving the Vikings the majority and the tiebreaker.
Augustana’s Annie Kruse (21:26.00) took third overall as the freshman was also named the NSIC’s Newcomer of the Year as she was the top finisher competing in her first year of NSIC competition.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Bemidji State
Emily Turner (Jr., Windom, Minn.)  led the Bemidji State University cross country team to 12th place at the 2014 NSIC / US Bank Championship Saturday in Wayne, Neb. The junior turned in a time of 23:42.0 to finish 45th individually. Four of the eight BSU competitors recorded times better than their 2013 league championship marks on the 6,000-meter course, led by Nicole Crummy, who trimmed 1:38 off her 2013 time to post a 24:16.52 and place 61st individually.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Concordia-St. Paul
The Concordia-St. Paul competed in the NSIC Championships and finished 13th. Maggie Marcus led the way finishing 43rd (23:40.79) as she set a new Concordia course record for the current Wayne State course.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

University of Mary
Lexi Zeis and Erin Leier earned All-Northern Sun honors for the University of Mary at the 2014 Northern Sun women’s cross country championships and 25th ranked Marauders placed fourth overall. Zeis paced the Marauders for the fifth straight meet and the freshman from Bismarck, N.D., claimed sixth overall. She traversed the 6K course in a time of 21:41.33 and claimed first team All-Northern Sun recognition. Leier earned All-NSIC honors for the second straight season. The senior from Esmond, N.D, finished 16th overall, posting a time of 22:25.81. Three underclassmen rounded out the team scoring for the Marauders. Freshman Adilene Benetiz placed 23rd with a clocking of 22:43.55. Sophomores Katelyn Engh and Kennedy Robbins were right behind. Engh finished 27th in 22:40.23 and Robbins was 44th in 23:41.39.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Minnesota Duluth
No. 3 UMD tied for first with Augustana in the team standings at the NSIC/US Bank Championship, but lost the title to the Vikings in a NCAA tie-breaker. Sophomore Samantha Rivard (a 6K time of 21:26.79) placed fourth out of 117 competitors to lead the Bulldogs while sophomore Breanna Colbenson (21:47:07) and freshman Emi Trost (21:53.41) were seventh and eighth, respectively, and joined Rivard on the All-NSIC first team. All-NSIC second team honors were bestowed on UMD’s other two scorers --  junior Hannah Olson (11th place; 22:05.45) and senior Alexandra Rudin (18th; 22:29.85)  -- while junior Erica Seidenkranz (25th; 22:47.45) and rookies McKenzie Holt (26th; 22:53.72) and Amber Seidenkranz (29th; 22:53.72) were next three placers for the Bulldogs.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Minnesota State
The Minnesota State women’s cross country team placed seventh at the 2014 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship.  Senior Marina Paul checked in at 22:35.26 and her 20th-place finish was the top individual performance by a Maverick. Junior Stephanie Steenhoek (23:47.51) finished 43rd, freshman Erica Hauf (23:48.87) followed at 14th, freshman Mariah Betzler (24:21.76) placed 54th, freshman Jaden Roddick (24:35.51) came in at 57th, senior Kimberly Allan (24:57.03) placed 64th, freshman Megan Allan (25:28.48) was 87th and sophomore Maddi Sjelin (25:43.36) was 90th.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

MSU Moorhead
Molly Montonye (Jr., Graceville, Minn./Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley HS) earned All-NSIC first-team honors for second straight year at NSIC Championships as she finished second overall with 6K time of 21:25.33.  She helped MSUM to a fifth-place finish in team standings
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Minot State
Minot State finished ninth overall at the 2014 NSIC / US Bank Women’s Cross Country Championships Saturday in Wayne, Neb. The Beavers finished with a 283, four better than the University of Sioux Falls and 13 points back of St. Cloud State. Catie LeDesma (5-6, So., Chula Vista, Calif. / Otay Ranch) paced the Beavers with a time of 22 minutes, 55.35 seconds. She finished 30th overall and 29th in scoring. Allison Windish (5-5, Jr., Wimbledon, N.D. / Barnes County North) was second on the Beavers team with a 24:05.81, placing 58th overall. Two MSU runners finished with personal bests for the 6K race as Emily Westlake (5-9, Fr., Gainesville, Fla. / P.K. Yonge) and Eyeiessa Darville (5-1, So., Nassau, Bahamas / St. Augustine’s) each ran their fastest collegiate times.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Northern State
Sasha Hovind became the Wolves’ first individual champion at the NSIC / US Bank Cross Country Championships since Stephanie Hengel in 1988, as she won the women’s 6K championship race on Saturday with a time of 21:19.75 to lead NSU to a sixth-place finish as a team. Hovind had a trio of second-place finishes on the season but saved her best for last as she finished nearly six seconds faster than MSU Moorhead’s Molly Montonye who placed second.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Sioux Falls
The Cougar finished 10th at the NSIC/ US Bank Championships as sophomore Rachel Huffman finished 37th (23:33.60).  Senior Rebecca Steadman was 46th, 24:01.24; sophomore Kylie Herlihy, 59th, 24:36.55; senior Hailee Heitkamp, 72nd, 25:25.69; freshman Kiana Hein, 73rd, 25:26.19; and freshman Tenley Schwartz, 74th.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Southwest Minnesota State
 SMSU earned an 11th place finish out of 15 teams with 294 points at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships.  Leading the Mustangs was freshman Savannah Ramirez, who crossed the finish line in 37th place with a time of 23:12. Paige Yi and Tatum Larson finished second and third for the Mustangs crossing the finish line in 73rd and 74th place respectively with times of 24:45 and 24:46.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State University sophomore Samantha Sunstrom captured All-NSIC accolades for the second season in a row with her 19th place finish at the 2014 NSIC women’s cross country championships.  Sunstrom posted a time of 22:33.04 on the 6K course at the Wayne Country Club in Wayne, Neb. to gain All-NSIC second team status this year. As a team, the Huskies placed eighth overall with a team total of 270 points.   Rachel Sakry finished second for the Huskies at the race with a time of 24:19.39 in 63rd place, while Zia Matti was 70th at 24:35.70.  SCSU’s other runners at the race included Maria Hauer (79th place/25:02.42), Jessie Hubley (89th/25:41.35),Lindsay Stassen (91st/25:47.63), Tristan Sproul (92nd/25:52.34), Emma Gaustad(95th/26:15.98) and Savanna Hosler (107th/27:19.71).  
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Upper Iowa
In year two of Upper Iowa’s cross country program, the Peacocks matched their finish from year one placing 14th in the 15-team field at the NSIC/US Bank Championships/  Hallie Whitley was the top runner for Upper Iowa today. Whitley placed 55th with a time of 24:23.34; just seven seconds behind her best 6K time of the season. Chandra Smith finished 65th (25:00.37), while Bethani Jacobsen (25:53.22), placed 78th on the day. Christi Neil (27:07.22) and Paige Davis (27:50.73) posted the final two counting times and placed 89th and 93rd, respectively.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Wayne State
Kinsey Clark, a sophomore from Broken Bow, Neb. (Broken Bow HS) was the first Wayne State runner to cross the finish line Saturday at the NSIC Championships in Wayne, taking 64th place overall on the 6,000 meter course with a time of 24:20.  As a team, the Wildcats were 15th place with a team score of 385.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Winona State
The Winona State women’s cross country team ran away with third place in the NSIC Championship on Saturday in Wayne, Neb. Out of the 15 teams in the running, Augustana and Minnesota Duluth were the only teams that finished ahead of the Warriors in the meet. Winona State had three runners finish in the top 15. Leading the charge for WSU was senior Jordan Skelly coming away with a top 10 finish, completing her run in 10th with a time of 22:03.43. Junior teammate Jordan Paschke didn’t finish far behind with a 13th place finish, completing her run in 22:11.29. Senior Chelsea Schrubbe also finished in 15th, crossing the finish line at the 22:25.73.
Up Next: Nov. 22 at the NCAA Central Region Championships in Wayne, Neb.

Past NSIC Women’s CC Athletes of the Week
9/9/14: Sasha Hovind, Northern State
9/16/14: Molly Montonye, MSU Moorhead
9/23/14: Sam Rivard, Minnesota Duluth
9/30/14: Sam Rivard, Minnesota Duluth (2)
10/7/14: Sam Rivard, Minnesota Duluth (3)
10/14/14: Molly Montonye, MSU Moorhead (2)
10/21/14: Emi Trost, Minnesota Duluth
10/28/14: Sam Rivard, Minnesota Duluth (4)