The University of Minnesota Duluth cross country programs put up a pair of strong performances in today's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Cross Country Championships, taking home a third-place finish in the Men's 8k and a fourth-place team finish in the Women's 6k at the Souris Valley Golf Course hosted by Minot State University in Minot, N.D.

The men kicked the morning off with a third place team finish effort, led by the run of fifth-year senior Jack Van Kempen. Van Kempen was bestowed All-NSIC First Team honors with his fourth-place finish -- a career conference meet high -- and time of 24:09.3, was just three seconds off of the runner-up as the group came down the final stretch. Senior Owen Dickenson placed 14th overall with a time of 24:28.8 and garnered All-NSIC Second Team accolades. Rounding out the top five finishers for the UMD men: junior Alex Heidorn (24th; 25:00.2), sophomore Noah Foster (29th; 25:13.2), and senior Mikey Kvaal (35th; 25:20.0).  All five UMD runners registered personal bests.

On the women's side, the Bulldogs had a pair of top-10 finishes and tallied 98 points for fourth place. Seniors Franny Seidel and Maddie Verkerke paced the women in the 6k competition, with both runners picking up All-NSIC First Team distinctions. Seidel came in eighth place overall finish with a time of 21:12.1, while Verkerke crossed the finish line right on Seidel's heels with a time of 21:12.9. Freshman Mileena Sullivan (23rd; 22:02.1), sophomore Ellie Hanowski (28th; 22:15.2) and junior Elizabeth Vanloon (30th; 22:17.4) rounded out the scoring for the Bulldog women. Seidel, Sullivan, Hanowski and VanLoon all also ran personal bests on the day.

Both Van Kempen and VanLoon picked up additional honors on Saturday -- VanLoon was named the 2024 NSIC Elite Award winner -- her second time winning the award this year -- abd Van Kempen was awarded the NSIC Men's Cross Country Outstanding Senior of the Year, an award voted on by the league coaches.

UMD's next action will be at the NCAA Central Regional that will take place on Saturday, November 9th in Joplin, Missouri.  The NCAA Championships are set for Saturday, November 23 at Arcade Creek CC Course in Sacramento, California.