MANKATO, Minn. – The Minnesota State women's and men's cross-country teams are back in action this Sunday as they compete in the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Lawrence, Kansas at Rim Rock Farm.
The men's 8K race is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., while the women's 6K is set to begin at 10:15 a.m.
Last Time Out:
The Mavericks head into the weekend after being idle the last two weekends following strong performances at the Roy Griak Invitational, highlighted by Luis Pfister, who finished first amongst Division II runners in the men's 8K.
The men's team finished ninth overall out of 18 teams. Pfister was the top finisher with a time of 24:25.5, good for a 25th place finish. continuing a start to the year which has seen him place 1st and 2nd respectively among D2 finishers, in the first two competitions of the year.
Freshman Tanner Felton (Becker, Minn.) was the next highest Maverick finisher, coming in at 47th with a time of 25:00.1. Jack Kendall (49), Erek Ross (64), and Jaden Miller (72) rounded off the top finishing Mavericks. Luke Scholtes (78), Ephraim Staley (83), Alex Morrison (90), and Dominic Ripperda (96) also finished within the top 100.
The women's team finished eighth overall out of 17 teams, racking up 228 points as a team. Junior Sophie Baker (New Market, Minn.) continued her strong start to the season, finishing as the Mavericks top finisher with a time of 20:40.5. Baker's performance led to her finishing 19th overall, and third out of all Division II runners.
Junior Mileena Sullivan (Hibbing, Minn.) was the Mavericks next best finisher, finishing in 48th with a time of 21:20.5. Hayden Anderson (50), Hannah Huza (90) and Jayna Lamping (99) rounded out Minnesota State's top five finishers.
Pre-Nationals Preview:
Sunday's competition will provide the Mavericks with another chance to evaluate themselves against some of the best competition in the country as they look to continue their strong start to competition season.
The meet also gives both teams valuable experience on Rim Rock Farm's challenging course, preparing for the NCAA Championships on the same exact course on December 4th.
