TJ Leverentz/Winonan

Last season had mixed results for Winona State’s cross-country teams. The women made it to the Division II National Championship, where they earned a ninth place finish.

Head coach Brett Ayers said the women’s team has high aspirations for the season and hopes to become a team that consistently competes at a national level.

In order to become a national contender, a team needs elite athletes to lead the way. Warrior Jessica Young is returning as a Division II All-American. Jordan Skelly also had a good run in the national meet last year and a great spring track season.

“Chelsea Schrubbe ran very well last year as did Jordan Paschke, who is just a sophomore. In our first meet this year, Jordana LeSavage looked very strong,” Ayers said.

The Warriors began the year with the St. Mary’s University Alumni Open in Winona where they dominated. Jessica Young led the field with a time of 19:18. Young was one of five Warrior runners that cracked the top ten; Jordan Skelly took third with a time of 19:36, Jordana LeSavage finished in 19:57 to take fifth, Chelsea Schrubbe finished sixth with a time of 20:05 and Jordan Paschke took seventh with a time of 20:07.

The next challenge for the Warriors was the Wisconsin-Parkside Midwest Open, where Young finished fourth overall with 18:16, and Skelly posted a time of 18:39. The Warriors finished fifth as a team in the meet.

The men’s team is at a different stage. Last season they struggled at their conference meets, which is something the team addressed.

“We want to focus on the NSIC meet and take the next step to becoming a consistent, contending team, which for 2013 means finishing fifth or higher at the conference championships,” Ayers said.

Some runners to watch for the men are “Billy Eifert, Sam Westerberg, Shane Carlson and David Lund,” Ayers said.

Eifert and company got off to a good start at the St. Mary’s Alumni Invitation, crushing the field by 43 seconds to take the individual title with a time of 21:36. Carlson was able to claim fourth with a time of 22:33, and Westerberg’s time of 22:25 rounded out the top five.

The men brought the momentum from their win to Somers, Wis. for Wisconsin-Parkside Midwest Open. The men earned an 8th place finish in a field full of elite Division I runners.

The competitive field didn’t stop Eifert, whose time of 25:49 earned him a 15th overall finish and led the men to a 15th place finish.

The men’s start to the season is a positive sign considering they are unproven, “we’re very young,” said Ayers.

The next men and women’s meet is the St. Mary’s No Limits Invitational in Winona. The action gets underway 4:30 p.m. with the women’s race, and the men will race at 5:15 p.m.

Contact TJ at [email protected]