University of Minnesota Duluth fifth-year senior cross country runner Franny Seidel competed in the final cross country race of her career Saturday at the The 2024 Division II Cross Country National Championships in Sacramento, Calf.

Both the men's 10k and women's 6k races took place at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, Calif. Wet and muddy conditions played a role in affecting the times of all athletes on the course, but nonetheless some incredibly gutsy performances still came out of the day.

Seidel's time of 22:02.9 was good for 86th in the nation. This is an improvement of 115 places from her nationals race two years ago where she ran a time of 23:17.4. 

"Franny had an amazing race. With not ideal course conditions, she handled everything so well like the veteran runner she is," said Head Coach Brette Jensen. "Right away, she established herself with great positioning and moved up significantly throughout the race. Finishing inside the top 100 when only two years ago she finished 201st is a testament to who Franny is and the growth she has maintained. I'm very proud of her and the career she's had as a Bulldog! This was the perfect ending to her career!" 

The NSIC as a whole had great representation at the championships. Senior Ryan Hartman of the University of Augustana took the National Runner-Up spot in the men's 10k, and University of Mary senior Alyssa Becker took sixth overall for the women. 

In the women's 6k race, Augustana took 10th as a team, Winona State University took 14th, and the University of Mary took 18th.