Kylie Bridenhagen/Winonan

The Winona State University Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams lined up at the starting line in West Salem, Wisconsin to race this past weekend at the Jim Drews Invitational and the Tori Neubauer Invitational.

The top runners for both teams did not run, in order to rest and prepare themselves for the NSIC Championships, which will be held this Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Before the Warrior women ran this weekend, they had competed at the Roy Griak Invitational, where they took home the second place title.

After this race, the team moved to third in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Central Region rankings and also moved up one place to be ranked 17th in the nation by the USTFCCCA national poll.

This is the first time in history that the Women’s Cross Country program has been nationally ranked.

For head coach, Adam Boothe, his favorite memory of the season so far was seeing the reactions on the faces of the girls after they had found out they got second at Roy Griak.

“This is one of the largest, most prestigious meets in the country.  I had already heard it announced, but they were on their post-race cooldown. When they got back the results were up on the big screen for them to see. Seeing the excitement and the tears of joy on their faces was one of the greatest moments I’ve had in coaching.”

For Boothe, being nationally ranked gives the team more validation than anything. “It’s for all the hard work the team has put into the season, but there are still other important goals the team still wants to achieve.”

Sophomore Jordan Skelly said, “Everyone on the team was so excited. It truly is a gift from God to be on such a strong team that can and will make a big difference,” after finding out that Winona State was nationally ranked.

Tough practices and working hard while running during season, as well as the off-season, has led the Warriors to the last race before the NSIC Championships—the Tori Neubauer Invitational.

Winona State finished 20th overall with 575 points, but once again, the top runners were resting their legs and instead cheered on their younger teammates.

Iowa Central College finished third with 101 points, while Wartburg was second with 99 points, and the winning team with 82 points was Minnesota.

Kelsey Schaefer was the first Warrior to cross the finish line.

She did so in 24:36.3, which put her in 94th place overall.

Natalie Jech was next to finish in 24:40.6, and was 98th overall. In 112th place was Rachel Ziebell, who ran 25:08.8.

Lauren Rusch finished in 25:23.9, in 120th place.

The fifth Winona runner was Amy Holovnia, who finished in 151st place, with a time of 26.11.1.

The individual winner for the meet was Alana Enabnit, of Wartburg.

She crossed the finish line in 24:41.5. Jorden Johnson and Emma Lee, teammates from St. Olaf, finished second and third in 21:54.3 and 22:04.8.

The Warrior men also ran at the Jim Drews Invitational, which was also held in West Salem.

Kai Hovden was the first runner from Winona State to finish the race.

He ran 28:47.7, and finished 160th overall.

Jared Haldeman was next with 29:35.2 and placed 168th.

Joe Carlson completed his race in 170th place with a time of 29:45.0.

Nathan Mollan was 171st with 29:48.2. Pat Dimpsey was 173rd overall, with a time of 29:58.5.

The top runner was Stanley Kebenei from Iowa Central College, who ran in a time of 24:45.3.

Eli Horton of Central College and Grant Wintheisen of St. Olaf finished back to back in 25:13.1 and 25:13.2.

Overall, Winona State accumulated 842 points, which put them in 26th place. Central College finished in third place as a team with 131 points, while UW-Platville took home the second place title with 111 points. UW-La Crosse was the winning team at the invitational with just 45 points.

On Oct. 20th, both Winona Cross Country teams will be back in action and battling for the top spots at the NSIC Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Young is hoping to finish among the top as a team and individually. “We have put our hearts and soles into every practice and performance. To go out and end the season with great success would be such a blessing.”

Contact Kylie at [email protected].