BURNSVILLE, Minn. - Augustana College men and women’s cross country teams were the top choices in the 2012 NSIC Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Vikings will boast both NSIC Preseason Athletes of the Year in Paul Yak and Runa Falch. Both Yak and Falch are defending NSIC Cross Country Champions. Augustana men have won the last three NSIC Cross Country Championships, while the women are four-time defending champions, including winning the 2011 NCAA DII National Championship.
On the men’s side, Augustana received the max of 12 first place votes (coaches cannot vote for own school) and tallied 144 points, 11 points ahead of Minnesota State who had 133 points and the other first place vote. Minnesota Duluth (118) was picked third with the University of Mary (109) coming in fourth and Sioux Falls fifth (95).
NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year Paul Yak is coming off a season where he was an All-America honoree after finishing 11th at the NCAA Championship (10K, 31:33.50). Prior to that he placed sixth at the NCAA DII Central Region Championship (8K, 33:06.00). He won the NSIC Championship (8K, 24:28.76) on October 22, earning himself All-NSIC first-team honors and picking up NSIC Athlete of the Year laurels.
On the women’s side, Augustana garnered nine top votes as they amassed 165 points. The University of Mary was a close second with 161 points and the other five first place votes. Winona State was third with 138 points followed by Minnesota Duluth in fourth with 137 points. Minnesota State came in fifth with 123 points.
NSIC Preseason Athlete of the Year Runa Falch returns for her junior campaign in 2012 as the two-time defending conference champion. Falch won the NSIC Championship (6K, 20:38.24) on October 22, earning All-NSIC first-team honors and picking up NSIC Athlete of the Year laurels. She finished 33rd at the NCAA Central Region Championship (6K, 24:38.00) on November 5 and collected All-America honors by finishing 11th at NCAA Championship (6K, 21:42.40) on November 19, helping the Vikings win the National Championship.
The NSIC Cross Country field has expanded in 2012 with the addition of Minot State and Sioux Falls to the conference. Southwest Minnesota State also added men’s and women’s cross country this season, to amass a total of 14 women’s teams and 13 men’s teams.
NSIC Cross Country teams will compete in various meets throughout the fall with the season culminating in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday, October 20th at the NSIC Cross Country Championships. The NCAA Regional will take place two weeks later on Saturday, November 3rd in Joplin. Mo. The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will also be in Joplin, Mo. on November 17th.
2012 NSIC Cross Country Athletes to Watch
Augustana
Paul Yak Jr. Storm Lake, Iowa
Runa Falch Jr. Steinkjer, Norway
Bemidji State
Tina Larson Sr. Morris, Minn.
Concordia-St. Paul
Nic Cass So. Hortonville, Wis
Anna Schield So. Two Harbors, Minn.
University of Mary
Jesse Bennett Jr. Kalispell, Mont.
Dakota Wolf Sr. Dickinson, N.D.
Minnesota Duluth
Amanda Boman So. Duluth, Minn.
Dan Nielsen So. Andover, Minn.
Minnesota State
Sarah Bowler Jr. Circle Pines, Minn.
MSU Moorhead
Clayton Foster Sr. Pequot Lakes, Minn.
Kelly Brammer Jr. Moorhead, Minn.
Minot State
Brandon Velasquez Sr. Chula Vista, Calif.
Cassandra Sayler Sr. West Fargo, N.D.
Northern State
Jayce Seelig Sr. Lisbon, N.D.
Mikayla Barondeau Sr. Frederick, S.D.
Sioux Falls
Bobby Brockmueller So. Brandon, S.D.
Shelbie Pettie Sr. New Windsor, Ill.
Southwest Minnesota State
Karli Tholen Fr. Tracy, Minn.
Jack Derham Fr. York, England
St. Cloud State
Jared Hicks Sr. Spearfish, S.D.
Kassie Vaness Jr. Oxford, Wis.
Wayne State
Garang Lual Jr. Omaha, Neb.
Skyler Lippman Jr. Pierce, Neb.
Winona State
Billy Eifert So. Cambridge, Minn.
Kayla Gudmundson Sr. Becker, Minn.