The Winona State University cross country teams wrapped up their 2018 seasons at the NCAA Division II Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Warrior men placed 20th out of 28 teams in the 10k run while the women placed 11th out of 35 in the 6k race hosted by Missouri State University.

Senior Nikki Staffen paced the women’s team with a time of 22:25.3 that placed her 33rd overall and was 10 seconds faster than her mark in the same race last season. Next to cross the finish line was junior Anna Rogahn (22:35.8), who finished 36th overall. First-year Allison Hendrickson finished 59th and set a season-best time of 23:05.4. Senior Maria Sabourin also set a season-best time with a 24:36.9. Sophomore Katie Lorenz posted a top-100 finish with a time of 23:43.1. Second-year runner Becca Richtman was the final Warrior woman to account for team scoring and finished with a time of 24:08.4.

First-year runner Josh Jarpey paced the men’s team with a time of 32:41.6 to cross the finish line 83rd overall. Sophomore Cole Cohorst cut off almost 30 seconds from his time at the regional race last season with a time of 32:51.9.

“This post-season was fun, especially at regionals as we got to race on a cross that is designed and used only for cross country,” Cohorst said. “It was also our best showing as a men’s team this year and showed that we definitely have some potential to work with to help bring us more success next year.”

Senior Jesse Frank ran his last race as a Warrior and finished inside the top-100. Frank slashed over a minute off last year’s race and finished with a time of 33:00.1. Sophomores Ross Stevensen (33:35.0) and Kyle Turba (33:50.8) rounded out the men’s scoring times for Winona State. Frank is the only runner the men’s team is losing for next season.

“Next year on the men’s side we will only lose Frank to graduation, which is a plus and a minus,” Stevenson said. “We will lose a great runner and leader, however, it is easier to make up for since it is only one scorer. I’m also excited to see what the soon-to-be sophomores are capable of. Hopefully they can continue to improve and build off of this season.”

When asked to reflect on his 2018 season, Cohurst described the experience as unique.

“We had a festival year (this happens every 4 years) this year which means that the cross country season was two weeks longer than normal,” Cohurst said. “This adjustment combined with a whole new training philosophy being added with a new coach made for a lot of changes in a very short period. This meant that a lot of the runners, including me, had to make a lot of adjustments. These adjustments can’t be made overnight sadly and usually takes a half year to a full year before we start to get the positive results from this change. This meant that this season wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for, both individually and as a team. However, we have a lot to look forward for next year.”