Cross Country 2014

We are getting closer to the start of the 2014 Cross Country Season.  Augustana returns a strong core of runners who have national meet experience.  The men finished 3rd and the women 5th at the 2013 National Championships.  Where can the Vikings finish this year?????

Men of Augustana win DMR national title

This past weekend the men of  Augustana won the first relay title in the history of the program. The team of Travis Beniak (sr), Khor Kong (fr), Henrik Hansson (so), and Tom Karbo (jr) clocked a 9:49.06 to take the national title on the first day of competition at the national track meet in Mankato, MN. Not only did the men manage to break their school record set earlier this year but they also managed to break the all-time South Dakota state collegiate record held previously by the University of South Dakota.
The championship in the DMR brings the total of national champions in the past 365 days to five for Augustana. (Omot 800i, Omot 800o, Falch 1500o, Women's CC, Men's DMRi) Enjoy the video of the men's race.



To view complete coverage of the first day of competition click here.

The women of Augustana set the tone by breaking their school record and state record in the DMR in the finals at the national meet. The team was made up of Kyle Blakeslee (jr), Colleen Everson (so), Kayla Mescher (fr) and Runa Falch (jr). Their time was good enough to finish fifth. I will post video of the women's DMR as soon I can get it uploaded.

NSIC Championships

This past weekend, both the men and the women of Augustana finished second at a very competitive NSIC conference championship. I'm putting together some highlights from the meet. As I finish them I'll post them here on the blog. Feel free to continue to check back for new updates!

Jim Vahrenkamp

Men's 800m Final


Highlights from the NSIC Championships


Men's 60H Final

Freshman, Henrik Holmberk and Skyler Kuil compete in the 400m Finals

Travis Beniak, Tom Karbo and Henrik Hanson compete in the men's Mile Finals

Women Break School Record in 4x400m at Nebraska

This past weekend the women broke the school record in the 4x400m relay at the Nebraska Tune up. Below is the video of the race. Members of the relay in order were Kayla Mescher, Colleen Everson, Karmen Nyberg and Anne Parsley.

First Annual EggNog Challenge

Shane Mccallum, a freshman distance runner, put together the first annual eggnog challenge at Augustana College before holiday break.   He got the idea from BYU who posted a video of their eggnog challenge on flotrack.com.    The basic idea is to chug a glass of eggnog, run a lap, chug eggnog, and repeat until the last person pukes.   The last person that pukes is deemed the winner!  Casey Diggs is the first annual winner and we are all very proud!   Pretty interesting idea and it was all captured on the video below.   

Video

Cross Country Banquet

  Before holiday break the Augustana cross country teams had their annual banquet.   Athletes, coaches, and families shared a great meal and looked back on the historic xc season.    Coach Parno and Coach Maloney, put together a few videos that you can view below.   We thank both Kelly Kougl and Halvard Lange our only two seniors and we wish them the best moving forward in their lives!

Some highlights of nationals!



Picture compilation from 2011 xc season

Coach Parno Gets Press On Letsrun.com for his picks!

Check out the paragraph on letsrun.com!

Boom!

Coach Parno Picks Augie To Win Nationals Beforehand, Wins National letsrun.com Poll!

Hey!

     Letsrun.com came out with a poll prior to nationals.   The goal was to put in order the predicted finishes of the top ten men's and women's team.   The poll was then scored after the race and the results were published.  Coach Parno was the only person in the nation to pick the Augie Women as national champions prior to the race and his combined score brought him out on top!

He wins a letsrun.com t shirt which is cool, but winning the national championship was also very cool!

Nationals Videos! Historic Weekend For Augustana Cross Country!

Athlete Interviews and Race Footage 



 Bloopers and Fun






 

Famous Professional Runners Tweeting About Our National Championship!

After the win, coach Parno tweeted the news to a bunch of professional runners for a shout out.  We got some great responses back! Check out the tweets!