Cross Country Dominates at the Marauders Open: Moe and Rypkema Take the Individual Titles
North Dakota State brought both of its cross country teams to Bismark to open up the season. The race was held at the McDowell Dam Recreational Area. Both groups lost experienced veterans to either the transfer portal or eligibility. Veterans including Aiden Knodle and Reagan Baesler paved the road for a majority of NDSU's performances last season.
Head cross country coach Dennis Newell is in his sixth year at the helm and is still in search of his first Summit League team title. However, Newell has one of the most impressive streaks in the country. The women have never finished outside the top three in 17 consecutive seasons; on the other hand, the men haven’t finished outside the top three in 11 seasons.
With those heavy hitters graduating, returning juniors and seniors have stepped up. Including Gonzaga transfer Jade Rypkema from Nevis, Minn.
The women dominated the event from start to finish. They had 11 out of the 13 top place finishers.
Rypkema won her first individual title of the season in 21:26.6. Canadian native Logan Harz placed third at 21:41.1, and former Valley City Hi-Liner Reagan Berg finished fourth at 21.53.9. Sophomore Kylie Nelson rounded out the top-five at the 22:13.8 mark.
NDSU had a little bit of everything in this meet. Hannah Boese made her debut in the green and gold, wrapping up the team scoring for the herd with a time of 22:18.7
Runners that didn’t score any team points but placed were Madison LeSage in eighth, Kasey Soderholm in ninth, and Julia Link in tenth.
A smooth showing on the women's side to win their first meet of the year.
In contrast, the men's team had an equally dominant showing. They scored 25 points to win the team title.
Williston’s very own Ethan Moe led the Bison, placing third with a minute mark of 25:06.3. Fifth-year Will Gerber placed right below Moe at 25:29.3.
Former Davies Eagle Regan Bosch scored fifth at 22:29.6, veteran Brady Goss finished sixth at 25:30.0, and second-year runner Taylor Wanner rounded out the teams scoring at 25:44.8.
Quinn Roehl placed ninth, Joe Quinn finished 11th, and first-year runner Owen Johnson put together a 12th-place finish in his bison debut.
Both teams will look to keep improving and competing at the Roy Griak Invitational held by the University of Minnesota on Friday, Sept. 18.
