The University of Minnesota Duluth men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship on Friday in Wayne Neb. at the Wayne Country Club Golf Course. The women's 6,000-meter race will begin at 12:00 p.m. followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 1:15 p.m. Awards are scheduled to be presented at 2:15 p.m. 

DOG WATCH: The men's team returns two-top five scoring finishers off last season's third place team in senior Alex Heidorn (24th; 25:00.2) and junior Noah Foster (29th; 25:13.2), who both to personal bests at the time. UMD's top finisher in every meet so far this season has been freshman Issac Dickenson, who will make his championship debut Friday.

Returning for the women's side that finished fourth in the meet last season is junior Ellie Hanowski (28th; 22:15.2) and senior Elizabeth Vanloon (30th; 22:17.4). Graduate Shaelyn Hostager will make her NSIC Championship debut six months after clinching both the 5,000m and 10,000m titles on the track.

VanLoon was also named the 2024 NSIC Elite 18 Award winner -- her second time winning the award in the 2024 calendar year.

A LOOK AHEAD AT THE SHIP: The women's race will have 16 teams competing while 14 teams will run in the men's race. Fans can follow the action via social media (#NSICCC) and on the NSIC Network. Admission to the championship is free. 

A new women's individual champion will be crowned this season as reigning champion Alyssa Becker graduated from the University of Mary.  Augustana is the defending team champion, but Winona State is ranked 11th in the nation in the latest USTFCCCA ranking while Minnesota State is ranked 27th and UMD is receiving votes.  

The Augustana men, as a team, will be in search of its 15th NSIC championship in the past 16 seasons. The Vikings entered the championship ranked 25th in the latest USTFCCCA Poll. Augustana's Ryan Hartman, the two-time defending men's champion, has graduated, opening the door for a new individual champion in 2025.  

The NCAA regional will take place on Saturday, November 8 at the Tom Rutledge CC Course in Joplin, Missouri.  The NCAA Championships are set for Saturday, November 22 at Wayne E Danehl National CC in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

More information on the NSIC Cross Country Championships can be found at www.NorthernSun.org/NSICCC.

UMD'S HISTORY IN THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 

ON THE MEN'S SIDE: The Bulldogs men have won 12 NSIC Cross Country titles in program history, including a historic 11-consecutive season streak that began in 1993 and went through 2003 and still stands as the longest championship streak in conference history. UMD's only other title came before the streak in 1987, a tie with Moorhead State.

Over that championship spree, UMD had nine individual champions, and in all had 10. The last Bulldog to win the title was Robb Winterfield in 2003.

More recently, UMD has had a back-to-back Elite 18 Award winner – Grant Pulver in 2016 and again in 2017, and just last season, Jack Van Kempen became the Bulldogs first ever NSIC Men's Cross Country Outstanding Senior of the Year (2024).

Last season, UMD finished third as a team with 106 points and Van Kempen finished fourth overall with a time of 24:09.3.

ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE: The UMD women's cross country program has won 15 titles, including their own impressive run of 12-consecutive from 1992 through 2003. The most recent title came in 2015, and the Bulldogs won two of out three years over the 2013-15 seasons.

UMD has had 13 individual titles, including eight runners who won back-to-back titles. The Bulldogs had five-straight individual title winners from 1997 through 2001, with Brandy Griffith winning in 1997, Katie Huntley winning back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, and Katie Huntley repeating as champion in 2000 and 2001 to round out the title conference hold. Emi Trost was the last NSIC title holder after she won in 2016.

The Bulldog women have had two NSIC Newcomer of the Year honorees – Cailee Peterson in 2023, and before that, Sam Rivard in 2013, the year the award was started.

UMD has also had two NSIC Cross Country Elite 18 winners – Morgan Radel in 2022 and current senior Elizabeth VanLoon, who captured the award last fall (2024) as a junior.

The Bulldogs finished fourth as a team last season, led by Franny Seidel, who finished eighth overall with a time of 21:12.1, just in front of Maddy Verkerke, who placed ninth with a time of 21:12.9