The University of Minnesota Duluth will be heading to Wayne, Neb., this coming Saturday (Nov. 20) to compete in the NCAA II North Central Regional. The meet will be held at the Wayne Country Club, with the men's 10k race starting at 11:00 a.m. and the women's 6K following at 12:15 a.m. The top-five finishing men's teams and the top four women's squads, will qualify for the 2010 NCAA II Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, December 4.
TEAMS: Other teams competing with the Bulldogs are Adams State College, Augustana College, Colorado Christian University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, Concordia University - St. Paul, Fort Lewis College, University of Mary, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Minnesota State Mankato, Minnesota Sate University Moorhead, New Mexico Highlands University, University of Nebraska Kearney, Northern State University, Regis University Colorado, St. Cloud State University, Wayne State College, Western New Mexico University, Western State College of Colorado, Winona State University, along with women's teams from Bemidji State, Colorado State University - Pueblo, Mesa State College.
LAST YEAR: The University of Minnesota Duluth Women placed sixth in the region earning them their third-ever trip to the NCAA II Women's Cross Country Championships. Now-junior Morgan Place took home an individual title with a time of 21:39, followed by the now senior quartet of Bridget Hines (39th place; 23:23), Rachael Stack (44th place; 23:28), Whitney Hines (47th place; 23:33), and Carrie Wardell (48th place; 23:37).
The men's team was lead by now senior Erik Escher (52nd place; 34:05) junior Nick Nygaard (53rd place; 34:07) and junior Kyle Larson (76th place; 34:52) in the men's 10K race, which consisted of 128 competitors.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Junior All-American Morgan Place has earned top honors this season in all but one race which was last weekend at the NSIC conference meet. The Elsworth, Wis., native will attempt to claim her second NCAA Regional title this weekend. Other consistent point scorers for UMD this season have been seniors Bridget Hines, Michelle SanCartier, Whitney Hines, and also freshman Jacque Thaemert. On the men's side, sophomore Cole Toepfer, senior Erik Escher, sophomore Ryan Eason, junior Kyle Larson, and junior Nick Nygaard have consistently been the top five finishers this season.
THE RANKINGS: The Bulldog women are fifth in the most-recent USTFCCCA Central Regional and thirteenth in National Rankings while the men are currently ranked eighth in the Region.
