Bison Women’s Cross Country Picked 2nd in Summit League Preseason Poll
ELMHURST,
Ill. – The North Dakota State women’s cross country team has been
picked to finish second in The Summit League this season, according to
the league’s preseason poll of head coaches released on Wednesday.
Defending
champion South Dakota was chosen as the favorite with 47 points and six
of the eight first-place votes. The Bison, last season’s runner-up,
were second with 42 points and the remaining two first-place votes.
South Dakota State was third with 40 points.
NDSU
returns its top runner in junior Erin Teschuk, whose summer included a
Canadian national title and a World Championships appearance in the
3,000m steeplechase. Teschuk was named the Summit League Cross Country
Athlete of the Year last season after winning the league’s individual
title, finishing second at the NCAA Midwest Regional, and qualifying for
the NCAA Championships.
Senior
Brecca Wahlund will return from a year off and attempt to regain the
form that captured her the 2013 Summit League individual crown. Juniors
Taylor Janssen and Tarin Lachowitzer should also factor in the Bison top
five. Both earned second-team All-Summit League honors last season, as
Janssen finished 10th and Lachowitzer placed 12th at the league meet.
NDSU’s
newcomers include freshmen Emma Kusch Dahle (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Kayla
Huhnerkoch (Redwood Falls, Minn.) and Alaysia Freetly (Appleton, Minn.)
and sophomore transfer Brittany Brownotter (Bismarck, N.D.). Brownotter
spent her freshman season at the University of Mary, earning Division
II All-America honors in the distance medley relay.
Overall, 13 of the top 14 finishers at last season’s conference meet return in 2015.
NDSU
will open the 2015 cross country season by hosting the Bison Open at
Rose Creek Golf Course in Fargo on Friday, Sept. 4. The women’s race is
scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., with the men to follow.
Summit League Women’s Cross Country Poll
Rank
|
School (1st)
|
Points
|
1.
|
South Dakota (6)
|
47
|
2.
|
North Dakota State (2)
|
42
|
3.
|
South Dakota State
|
40
|
4.
|
Omaha
|
24
|
5.
|
IUPUI
|
21
|
6.
|
Fort Wayne
|
20
|
7.
|
Oral Roberts
|
18
|
8.
|
Western Illinois
|
11
|
NDSU Men’s Cross Country Voted 4th in Preseason Summit League Poll
ELMHURST,
Ill. – The North Dakota State University men’s cross country team has
been picked to finish fourth in The Summit League this season, according
to the league’s preseason poll of head coaches released on Wednesday.
Defending
champion IUPUI and 2014 runner-up South Dakota State were voted
co-favorites with 33 points apiece. South Dakota was third with 25
points, and NDSU came in fourth with 23.
NDSU
will open the 2015 cross country season by hosting the Bison Open at
Rose Creek Golf Course in Fargo on Friday, Sept. 4. The women’s race is
scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., with the men to follow around 5:30 p.m.
Senior
Brendan Skime and sophomore Brant Gilbertson are the top returners from
the NDSU squad that finished fourth at least year’s conference meet.
Skime was among the top five finishers for the Bison at every meet in
2014. Gilbertson was in the NDSU top five at every meet but one, coming
on strong at the end of the season for a 13th-place finish at the
Summit League Championships.
In
track & field, Skime placed in all three distance events at the
Summit League Indoor Championships and was the league runner-up outdoor
in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Other
notable returners include sophomores Camron Roehl and Joe Louiselle and
juniors Bryon Schuldt and Matt Jennings. The Bison also welcome a large
freshman class that includes Elliott Stone, Matt Lundstrom, Sam Markle,
Tom Clausnitzer, Evan Kottsick and Ben Bitter.
Stone
captured back-to-back North Dakota Class B state cross country
championships as a junior in 2013 and senior in 2014 for Shiloh
Christian HS. He swept the Class B state titles in the 1600m and 3200m
as a senior, setting state meet records in both.
Clausnitzer,
Kottsick and Markle finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, at
the North Dakota Class A state cross country meet in 2014. Lundstrom
placed sixth at the Minnesota Class AA state cross country meet for
Detroit Lakes HS a year ago.
Summit League Men’s Cross Country Poll
Rank
|
School (1st)
|
Points
|
2014 Finish
|
1.
|
IUPUI (4)
|
33
|
1st
|
South Dakota State (3)
|
33
|
2nd
| |
3.
|
South Dakota
|
25
|
3rd
|
4.
|
North Dakota State
|
23
|
4th
|
5.
|
Oral Roberts
|
16
|
5th
|
6.
|
Western Illinois
|
10
|
7th
|
7.
|
Fort Wayne
|
6
|
6th
|
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