This weekend the University of Minnesota Duluth men's and women's cross country teams will make the trip to Minot, N.D. to face off against the entirety of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) for the 2024 Cross Country Conference Championships. 

Competition for both the men and women will take place at Souris Valley Golf Course on Saturday, October 26th. The men's 8k race will consist of 13 total teams, and the women's 6k will hold a total of 15 teams.

In this fall's NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the UMD men were projected to finish 3rd, while the women were voted to place sixth. In the same poll, both Augustana University men's and women's teams were selected as the favorites, with the women currently ranked eighth and the men 24th in the national standings. 

The Bulldog men will be returning two of their top five finishers from their conference runner-up performance last year in Bismarck. Two-time NSIC Athlete to Watch Jack Van Kempen will look to improve on his First-Team All-Conference performance last season, in which he finished 10th. Fifth year Owen Dickenson will also look to move up from his 13th place Second Team All- Conference run. 

"Our men are ready to go to battle at the conference meet, and I can't think of a group of guys who want it more or who are more willing to leave it all out on the course and just go for it," said interim head coach David Palmer. "This group is poised to accomplish great things at the championships and I'm proud of all the work they've done this fall." 

NSIC Athlete to Watch Franny Seidel is coming off a solid 26th place finish in 2023, just six spots off an All-Conference placing. She and fellow fifth year Maddie Verkerke (28th in 2023), are both poised for dominant performances come Saturday. 

"The women have done a phenomenal job of working together this season, highlighted by an impressive spread of just 47 seconds at the Lewis Crossover," said assistant coach Lauryn Renier. "This continued teamwork puts the women in a great position to chase big goals and take another stride forward as we head into the conference meet." 

The men's race will kick off the action at 10 a.m., with the women's race to follow shortly after at 11:15 a.m. An awards ceremony will conclude the day's activities.