KENOSHA, Wis. – Minnesota State women's cross country placed 19th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships Saturday at Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course. The Mavericks scored 483 points in the 6K race and made their first NCAA appearance since 2022.
 
Junior Ashley Overgaauw led the way with a 56^th place finish and a time of 21:21.4. Sophomore Mileena Sullivan finished 117^th in 22:02.1. Right behind was senior Madison Matzek, who took 121^st position with a time of 22:03.02. Alexi MacDonald helped MSU with her 125^th place time of 22:05.2. Freshman Tara Hertling crossed in 155^th place and a time of 22:23.0. Then sophomore Amanda Overgaauw came in 179^th in 22:33.0. Sophomore Paige Larsen finished 230^th with a time of 23:20.0.

"I am so proud of the ladies," said head coach Jen Blue. "We created a vision board at the start of the season with the national meet being the ultimate goal. They put in the work every day, made the sacrifices and kept their eyes on the goal. Today, it paid off. We started 24th and finished 19th. They went for it. It was a great way to end the season."
 
Tristen Spence (Adams State) won the individual title with a blistering pace of 20:11.0. With five runners inside the top-20, Grand Valley State took the team title with 65 points, followed by Colorado School of Mines (69), Wingate (131), Adams State (168) and Western Colorado (206).
 
The Mavericks competed against fellow NSIC member Winona State. The Warriors came in 11^th as a team.