Women’s
North Dakota State women’s cross country team earned the team title in Brookings, South Dakota on Friday, defeating four other Summit League schools.
NDSU senior Reagan Baesler took second place out of 64 competitors in the six-kilometer race, clocking in at 20:48.4 and making her the top collegiate finisher. Her time on Friday was a new career-best for the 6k. She now ranks 14th on the NDSU all-time performance list in the event, which was just two seconds away from the previous course record made by NDSU All-American Erin Teschuk. The individual title went to North Dakota’s Yonca Kutluk, with a time of 20:40.25.
Senor Grace Link came in sixth place in 21:11.3. Last but certainly not least, three freshmen completed the rest of the scoring for the Bison. Jenna DeBates finished 10th in 21:56.5, Mia Hoffman took 14th in 22:00.2, and Reagan Berg got 17th in 22:11.3.
The Bison finished with 41 points. The other teams that competed at the SDSU Classic were South Dakota State (46), U-Mary (67), North Dakota (77), and South Dakota (133).
Men’s
The boy’s cross country team placed third out of five teams on Friday at Edgebrook Golf Course, with senior Hunter Klimek placing second out of 73 runners.
Klimek crossed the finish line with a season-best 24:32.7 in the eight-kilometer race, coming in right behind South Dakota State Sophomore Carson Noecker, who took the individual title in 24:11.28. Klimek has led the Bison boys in every meet so far this season.
Junior Jacob Knodle was the second finisher for the Bison, with a time of 25:09.9 in 10th place. This was his highest score for his team this year. Senior Tyson Mahar came in just two seconds after Knodle, placing 11th in 25:11.6. The team scoring for NDSU was completed by redshirt freshman Ivan Askim took 16th in 25:22.8, and Ethan Moe took 18th in 25:27.1.
The boys finished with a team score of 55 points. The other competing teams were South Dakota State (23), North Dakota (45), U-Mary (122), and Augustana (143). Five out of the top 10 finishers were representing the Jackrabbits.
The North Dakota State men’s team was also just ranked 15th in the Midwest Region in the most recent rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Midwest Region covers all Division I schools in the nine-state vicinity, including Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. This is the first time the Bison have entered the rankings this season.
NDSU’s next race is on Friday, Oct. 18th, at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Illinois.