The Winona State University cross country teams will begin their postseason with the NSIC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3, in Aberdeen, South Dakota. There are two more potential races that could take place in the postseason for the Warriors. The NCAA Central Regional Championship would be on Nov. 17 in Joplin, Missouri and the NCAA Championship on Dec. 1 in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. After four regular season races, the Warrior cross country teams are now preparing for the postseason.

Three Winona State seniors, one from the men’s team and two from the women’s, will enter their final postseason as Warriors.

Jesse Frank has been leading the way for the Warrior men this year, finishing first for his team in every race this season. Frank’s career best 8k time at Winona State is 25:49.0.

Seniors Nicki Staffen and Maria Sabourin are the two Warrior women who have had good seasons so far, most recently finishing top 30 in their last race, the Waxlax invitational. Staffen placed fourth while Sabourin finished 29th overall.

As the Warrior teams prepare for the postseason, the runners are taking a different approach to their workouts compared to their regular season ones. When asked about preparing for the postseason physically and mentally, sophomore Cole Cohorst answered that they are taking a different approach.

“We take a different approach physically now that we are in the postseason. Throughout the season we build our mileage and maintain

higher mileage, around 60-75 miles, and we are now going to taper our mileage to help our legs feel fresher,” Cohorst said. “We also start working more on easier speed work to create some turnover in our legs to keep our legs feeling fast. Mentally, we all have specific goals as individuals and as a team. We focus on why we run and how we can use that as motivation to help us to succeed when the going gets tough during the conference race and beyond.”

Junior Isaiah Warning was also asked about preparing for the NSIC Championships and how it compares to regular season races.

“All the regular season meets are the same, they are leading up to the postseason. As far as prep for the post season goes, we are not changing up much,” Warning said. “The workouts are going to be similar, just less intense. We are now going to rebuild our muscles.”

Staffen commented on what it’s like to be a part of the Warrior cross country team ahead of her final events for the team.

“As a team we are all very close and are all supportive of each other. If someone is having an off day we all reassure each other that not every day is going to be great, but we still have to take it and cherish our good days,” Staffen said. “Every girl on our team has her own strengths in running and when we put them together we really benefit from it and it makes us stronger together.”

The Winona State cross country teams will look to build off of a strong performance from their last meet and take the momentum into the NSIC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 3.