2015 UMAC Cross Country Championship

 
BUFFALO, Minn. – The men 's and women's cross country teams competed in Buffalo, Minn. at the Buffalo Heights Golf Club today for the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Championship. The weather was near perfect at race time but the leftovers from the previous night showers forced North Central to adjust the actual course. With puddles of standing water and a massive hill for both the men and the women to go up four times, our conference meet was underway.
 
The women started off the day with their 6k race at 12 p.m. Both Megan Sauer (Lismore, Minn./Adrian) and Lauren Farquhar (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) put themselves in a great position from the start. Lauren was out very fast and ran a 6:15 first mile with the lead pack. As the race progressed, Megan Sauer ran stride for stride with Lauren. Megan was the first Bethany Viking to cross the line (24:29) and fourth place in the conference. Megan Sauer's finish put her on the All-Conference First Team. Lauren Farquhar finished close behind (24:59) in ninth place overall. With a much deserved finish, Morgan Sauer (Lismore, Minn./Adrian) crossed the line in 26:09 and 13^th place overall. Both Lauren Farquhar and Morgan Sauer were recognized as All-Conference Second Team, giving Bethany three female athletes to make all-conference teams.
 
Katie Caflisch (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Mayo) ran a very gritty race (26:59) on a very difficult course. Freshman Katie Farquhar (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) finished with a time of 29:09 and Megan Morehouse (Coon Rapids, Minn.) ran the race in 29:14, both pulled each other along throughout the race and finished a respectable 56^th and 57^th overall. Anna Lieske (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West) finished her race with her strongest performance of the season (30:44). Dani Marzinski (South St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) charged the hills extremely well and crossed the line eighth for the Vikings (31:41). Elise Widmer (Yukon, Okla./Harding Charter Prep) put on a great race (32:52) after pushing through some aches and pains the last few weeks. Kari Marzinski (South St. Paul, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) rounded out our ladies today and finished in 33:31.
 
"Overall, today was a great day for our women's team. We had high expectations going into today and a lot of what we wanted to do we accomplished. With the challenge of having to attack the large hill four times and standing water, our women knew personal bests would be hard to come by today on the season's most difficult course," stated Head Coach Michael Dunn.
 
Dunn added, "The ladies practiced hills all year and were more than ready for today, what I saw from our women on the hill was a very strong group every time around. It is huge to have three women make All-Conference Teams and as a group we finished fourth overall with a team score of 87, one point off of third (Wis.-Superior – 86). This team is special in so many ways and I can't say how hard they have worked all season, fourth is a great accomplishment as this conference just gets better and better." 
The men capped our UMAC Championship day with their 8k race at 1:00pm. Owen Richardson (Lake Elsinore, Calif./California Lutheran) went out much like Lauren, in the lead pack. Owen finished the day making All-Conference Second Team and finished eighth overall (27:56). Zach Dantzman (Owatonna, Minn.) was the second Viking to finish and did so in 28^th place (30:21). Fellow Sophomore David Luehring (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) started the race very strong and ran with Zach for much of the race, he would cross the finish line in 36^th overall (30:54). Carl Wold (Princeton, Minn.) ran a hard-fought race, finishing 42^ndoverall (31:11). The fifth Bethany athlete to complete his race was Timothy Krause (Eden Prairie, Minn./Homeschool), doing so in 31:25. "Timothy looked like he got stronger as the race went on, showing that in two weeks expectations should be high," stated Coach Dunn.
 
Junior Lucas Malimanek (Albert Lea, Minn.) ran his 8k in 32:15 with his strongest looking performance of the season. Michael Lendt (Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran) was the seventh Viking to cross the line, doing so in 32:21. Luke Thun (Silver Bay, Minn./William Kelly) showed a lot of guts and finished 61^st overall (32:47). Nicolas Bruss (Lafayette, Minn./Sibley East) left it all on a difficult course today, finishing in 36:25 after slipping on the slick and soggy course. Michael Bless (St. Ansgar, Iowa) finished his season with his personal best on the most difficult course of the season! Finishing with a full minute and twenty second lifetime best, Michael ran 38:43.
 
The men finished in sixth place overall with 149 points. "The times for this race are very deceiving and our men need to understand that this was a tough course," Dunn stated.
 
Coach added, "It was great to see Owen finish in the top 10 this season in a very difficult field. The mechanics continue to look better from all of our men and it's nice to see the group continue to strengthen with two weeks left. This men's team has so much potential, we just need to continue to do all the little things right throughout the next two weeks to prepare ourselves for regionals." 
 
"To put the race times into perspective, if it was a flat course with drier conditions both the men and women could take one and a half to two minutes off of their final time and that is about where they were fitness wise today. I am very proud of each of these student-athletes for every ounce of effort they have given each and every day. We will train hard these next few weeks and determine which eight men and women will travel and which seven will compete for Regionals in Pella, Iowa," said first-year Head Coach Michael Dunn.
 
Regionals in Pella, Iowa are next on the schedule for both men's and women's cross country teams. They will compete on November, 14^th with the women beginning at 11 a.m. followed by the men at noon.