For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

NSIC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Alexis Zeis (Sophomore, Bismarck, N.D. / Bismarck HS) - University of Mary
- Captured the Roy Griak Invitational Maroon II race by nearly 13 seconds
- Ran the 6,000 meter course in 22:13.6
- The All-American has been the Marauders top finisher in every meet she has ran in for U-Mary
- Her victory is the first for a Marauder at the Roy Griak Invitational in school history
- Named USTFCCCA National Runner of the Week for Division II

NSIC Cross Country teams will compete in various meets throughout the fall with the season culminating in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on Saturday, October 24 at the NSIC Cross Country Championships held at Les Bolstad Golf Course.  The NCAA Regional will take place two weeks later on Saturday, November 7 in Joplin, Missouri. The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, November 21 at Tom Rutledge CC Course in Joplin, Missouri.

NSIC Women's Cross Country Team Notes
Augustana
- The Vikings finished ninth with 247 points at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Annie Kruse finished 17th with a time of 23:29.3
- Mackenzie Kelly finished 18th with a time of 23:33.8
- Augustana will return to action on October 10 at the Briar Cliff Invitational in McCook Lake, South Dakota

Bemidji State
- Nicole Crummy (Sr., Argyle, Minn.) led BSU to 27th place at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Crummy finished with a time of 24:31.7 to take 46th individually in her first 6K race of 2015
- BSU moved up four spots from its team finish one year ago
- BSU will run at the Bob Waxlax Invitational on Oct. 9 at Wapicada Golf Course in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Concordia-St. Paul
- CSP placed 36th at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Maggie Marcus led the Golden Bears with a time of 25:55.0 to place 136th
- CSP will run at the Bob Waxlax Invitational on Oct. 9 at Wapicada Golf Course in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

University of Mary
- The Marauders finished fifth at the Roy Griak Invitational
- This is the fifth straight year U-Mary has finished in the top five at Griak
- Three Marauders finished in the top 30, Alexis Zeis (1st), Katelynn Engh (23rd) and Jaiden Schuette (30th)
- U-Mary will take this weekend off before racing in the Jimmie Open on Oct. 9

Minnesota Duluth
- UMD won its second straight Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday
- UMD has won this event four of the last seven years
- The Bulldogs has three runners finish in the top 12
- Brenna Colbenson finished in 22:38.5 to place third
- Emilee Trost was sixth with at time of 22:55.2
- UMD will run at the Bob Waxlax Invitational on Oct. 9 at Wapicada Golf Course in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Minnesota State
- MSU turned in a 13th-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Sophomore Erin Baker finished with a 24:19.0 clocking as the top Maverick in placing 36th
- MSU will run at the Bob Waxlax Invitational on Oct. 9 at Wapicada Golf Course in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

MSU Moorhead
- Molly Montonye finished seventh at the Roy Griak Invitational with a 6K time of 22:47
- MSUM finished in sixth-place (out of 37 teams) with 183 points
- The Dragons were the third-highest finishing NSIC team
- Junior MaKenzie Smith had a strong showing, finishing 11th  
- MSUM will take this weekend off before racing in the Jimmie Open on Oct. 9

Minot State
- The Beavers finished 22nd out of 37 teams at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Allison Windish (Sr., Wimbledon, N.D.) set a course PR with a time of 24:22.6 to finish 39th overall
- MISU had four runners in the top 200 and two in the top 100 in a race that featured 360 placing competitors
- Samantha Huether (Jr., Minot, N.D.) took 99th in scoring with a time of 25:30.8
- The Beavers will take this weekend off before racing in the Jimmie Open on Oct. 9

Northern State
- NSU finished 16th overall at the annual Roy Griak invitational
- Dakotah Bullen led NSU, finishing 14th overall with a time of 23:17
- Lindsey Gast, Paige Larson, and Hanna Wahl each finished within the 25 minute mark
- NSU returns to action next Saturday at the SDSU Classic, race time is scheduled for 11:10 a.m.

Sioux Falls
- The Cougars were idle last week
- Next for the Cougars will be the Briar Cliff Invitational on Oct. 10 in McCook Lake, South Dakota

Southwest Minnesota State
- Hannah Palmeter (Jr., Bessemer, Mich) finished fifth at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Crossed the finish line with a time of 22:39.5
- Has placed highest among SMSU runners in all three races this season
- Helped SMSU finish 26th at the meet
- SMSU will run at the Bob Waxlax Invitational on Oct. 9 at Wapicada Golf Course in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

St. Cloud State
- Rachel Sakry finished 69th overall (24:52.3) to led SCSU to a 19th place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Senior Kaylee Roelike also placed in the top-100 for SCSU and ranked 82nd in her time of 25:09.1
- Maria Hauer was the third finisher for SCSU in 106th place and a time of 25:41.1
- SCSU will host the Bob Waxlax Invitational on Oct. 9 at the Wapicada Golf Club in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Upper Iowa
-    Upper Iowa placed 32nd at the Roy Griak Invitational with 868 points and an average time of 27:08.4
-    The team moved up one spot in the standings from last year and improved their average time by twenty seconds
-    Bethani Jacobsen turned in the best time for UIU with a 25:55.7, nearly a four-minute improvement over last years’ time
-    UIU will return to run at the Conference Crossover hosted by Lewis University on Oct. 10

Wayne State
- The Wildcats finished in 37th place with a team score of 976 points at the Roy Griak Invitational
- Junior Andrea DeSimone crossed the line in 127th place out of 371 runners with a time of 25:49
- Next for the Wildcats will be the Briar Cliff Invitational on Oct. 10 in McCook Lake, South Dakota

Winona State
- WSU earned an eighth-place finish at the 37-team Roy Griak Invitational
- Senior Jordan Paschke led the Warriors with a 19th-place finish out of 359 runners with a time of 23:35.3
- Raissa Hansen was just 10 seconds behind Paschke in 23rd with a time of 23:45.0
- Emily Tyrrell took 53rd while eight Warriors in total had top-100 finishes
- WSU competes at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite Friday at 4:15 p.m.

NSIC Women’s CC Athletes of the Week
9/9/15: Leah Seivert, Augustana
9/15/15: Molly Montonye, MSU Moorhead
9/22/15: Hannah Palmeter, SMSU
9/29/15: Alexis Zeis, U-Mary