Its the time of year when every cross country program in the US get's geared up to win their conference meet. It's no accident that one of the major web sites concerning collegiate track in the states chose to come out with a preview of each conference in Division II. While the coverage is short, it's coverage non-the-less.
Northern Sun Conference- Last year, the Minnesota State men’s team placed five individuals in the top ten finishers to claim to the 2008 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship with 22 points. Augustana College was second with 74 points and Wayne State College was third with 108 points. Look for MSU’s James Krajsa to be in front along with Augustana’s Tom Karbo and Matt Braithwaite and NSU’s John Rawerts.
Augustana women's cross country team placed five runners in the top ten to win the conference title with 32 points. They were followed by University of Minnesota-Duluth (56) and Minnesota State University (105). Look for UMD’s Morgan Place, MSUM’s Anna VanWechel, and Augustana’s Leah Hansen to be challenging for the individual title.
After seeing the teams compete so far this year I'd be really surprised to see Mankato replicate what happened last year. I think that on the men's side Augustana has made some good steps forward. Mankato on the other hand has taken a few steps backward. After a few stellar years, Denise seems to be struggling. I couldn't tell you why. At Griak he finished a long way back from where Krajsa finished. I think he'll be ready for conference but I'm not sure he'll be in the top ten. Looking at the rest of the conference it looks as though it should be a two team race for first on the men's side. The women are in for a challenge from Duluth in what looks to be another two team race. It depends again on how much Mankato has improved from last year. By 1pm Saturday we'll know which team showed up with the bigger heart ready to race. Go Vikings!
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