For the third year in a row and sixth time in eight seasons, the University of Minnesota Duluth will be heading to the NCAA Division II Championships.
UMD punched its ticket to that national event Saturday morning with a second-place finish at the 31-team NCAA II Central Regional in Joplin, Mo. The two-time defending meet champion Bulldogs were denied a three-peat by Southwest Baptist University. The Bearcats of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
posted a team score of 79 points -- 22 ahead of UMD. Augustana University (115 pts.), which placed second to the Bulldogs at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships two weeks ago, was third followed by another NSIC member, the University of Mary (123 pts.), which produced the event's individual titleholder in Alexis Zeis.
The Bulldogs, who had captured team crowns at all five of their previous meets this fall, were paced Saturday by
Emi Trost. The All-American sophomore out of Goodhue, Minn., completed the 6K race at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in a career-best time of 21:05.95 -- good for seventh place in a field of 208 runners. A pair of fellow All-Americans -- junior
Breanna Colbenson (21:17.50) and senior
Hannah Olson (21:28.57) -- were next, taking 10th and 11th, respectively. Senior
Erica Seidenkranz came in at 35th with a 22:21.78 clocking, one spot ahead of her sophomore sister Amber (22:23.67) to account for UMD's other two point generators. Rounding out the top seven Bulldog finishers were rookie
Allyson Girard (56th place; 22:48.71) and sophomore
McKenzie Holt (69th place; 23:06.86).
Trost, Colbenson and Olson each attained All-NCAA II Central Region status by finishing among the top 25 individuals. It was the fourth such honor for Olson, the third for Colbenson and the second for Trost.
"This Regional meet has gotten very tough," said UMD head coach
Joanna Warmington. "I knew we were in for a battle with the Southwest Baptist, Augustana and Mary. I am excited that we're going back to nationals again and our goal now all about preparation because we want that to be our strongest race of the year."
The 2015 NCAA II Championships will be held in Joplin on Nov. 21.
2015 NCAA II Central Regional Results
