Hovland, St. Scholastica cruise to UMAC women's cross country title
BENSON, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica may have missed out on the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's cross country program may have slipped from the top of the standings two years ago, but the experienced squad has reasserted its dominace after capturing the team's second-straight and 16th UMAC Championship in 17 years Saturday.
The Saints' chances at a repeat title were never in question as they were led by Casey Hovland who also reeled in her second individual champion title in as many years. Hovland clocked a time of 21:49.3 to outpace the rest of the field by nearly two minutes.
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Women's Results |
Championships Site |
Photos |
Behind Hovland's outstanding performance, the Saints placed all five scoring runners in the top 15 en route to a 27-point day. With Hovland, the Saints went 1-2-3 with Jordan Johnson taking second and Emily Gilman placing third. Johnson clocked a time of 23:47.5, while Gilman was just two seconds behind at 23:49.9.
Kelsey Dickinson took eighth overall to help the Saints with a time of 24:22.4 and Kali Erickson rounded out the scorers in 13th at 24:55.1. Heidi Carlson and Elizabeth Poskie also placed in the top 20 overall.
The University of Minnesota Morris placed as the runner up for the second time in as many years behind with 74 points the strong finish of Elisabeth Anderson who ended up fourth with a mark of 24:00.8. Hannah Goemann took seventh wiht a strong time of 24:18.1, while Katherine Novak placed 10th clocking 24:41.2.
Bethany Lutheran College took third in the team standings with 81 points edging out the preseason favorite for second place in the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Senior Megan Sauer led the Vikings with a time of 24:02 to place fifth, while sister Morgan Sauer finished 12th overall and Lydia Hildebrand was 14th.
The Yellowjackets were fourth totaling 91 points following the lead of last year's runner up in Kelli Praska. The sophomore followed up her rookie campaign with a sixth-place finishing time of 24:05.8. Alyssa Boyhtari also helped the Yellowjackets effort finishing 11th.
The University of Northwestern were fifth in the team standings with 123 points thanks to a ninth-place finish from Claire Sulflow who crossed the line in 24:32.0. Danica White aslo helped out placing 18th.
Crown College made a huge jump in the team standings to sixth-place after Mackenzie Nelson rounded out the top 15 with a time of 25:11.0. Kaylee Fickle also added to Crown's succes placing 17th.
The standings rounded out with Martin Luther College in seventh (176), Northland College in eighth (235) and North Central University was ninth (253).
| Standings |
|
| Team |
Score |
| 1. St. Scholastica |
27 |
| 2. Minnesota Morris |
74 |
| 3. Bethany Lutheran |
81 |
| 4. Wisconsin-Superior |
91 |
| 5. Northwestern |
123 |
| 6. Martin Luther |
136 |
| 7. Crown |
176 |
| 8. Northland |
235 |
| 9. North Central |
253 |