Sophomore Sara Frederickson joined a very select group of University of Minnesota Duluth runners Saturday afternoon when she became just the second Bulldog ever to secure NCAA All-American honors in cross country. The Elk River, Minn., native did so by finishing 31st among 188 individuals at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Evansville, Ind. Frederickson completed the 6K course with a time of 23:00.8.

Tammy Stang (in 2001) is the only other UMD athlete -- female or male -- to acheive All-American cross country distinction.

The UMD men, who were making an unprecedented second straight national appearance, placed 21st in the 24-team championship. Senior Nate Beerling was the first Bulldog to cross the finish line with a 10K clocking of 34:08.9 -- good for 59th place among 184 competitors. He was followed by sophomore Brian Polski (35:01.6; 104th place), freshman Eric Atkinson (35:36.7; 124th), freshman John Kallemeyn (36:15.1; 141st), junior Neil Olson (36:18.5; 144th) and sophomore Ben Cogger (36:58.1; 155th). Junior Robb Winterfeld, UMD's top finisher at the NCAA II North Central Regional meet two weeks ago, failed to complete the race.