WINTHROP, Minn. - The Bethany Vikings headed to Winthrop on Saturday for this year's installment of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, where the men finished fifth and the women sixth.
The Viking men kicked off the championships at noon, where they placed fifth with a score of 132 thanks to a flurry of personal records and season bests. Andreas Guessregen ran a personal best time of 28:19.6, placing him 11th, which landed him on the UMAC All-Conference Second Team. James Younge followed Guessregen with a season best time of 29:06.3 which was good enough for 18th overall. First-year August Weinstein continued his streak of PR's as he placed 28th with a time of 30:09.9. He was followed by Tanner Rosenthal, whose personal best time of 31:33.8 placed him 44th, and Ben Matzke who also ran a personal best time of 32:15.2 which placed him 50th overall.
Coach Dominic Santina had this to say about the men's race, "I thought the men executed our race plan perfectly and they all fought for each other. Which I'm happy to see them be able to move up the rankings and secure a top five team finish. All of them saw significant improvement. Congratulations to Andreas for having a very strong race for All-Conference Second Team honors."
The Viking women followed in the early afternoon, where they were able to place sixth with a score of 146. Not to be outdone, the women also ran several PR's and season bests. The Vikings were led by first-year Campbell Amundson who placed eighth with a time of 24:16.4. This time was not only a personal best, but also allowed Amundson to make the UMAC All-Conference First Team. Taryn Zellmann followed with a season best time of 28:00.2 which placed her 38th. Lauren Bauer kept the PR's flowing with a time of 28:42.0 which allowed her to place 43rd. Juliana Ewald similarly was able to run a personal record time of 30:47.6, placing 53rd. First-year Gracelyn Malecek rounded out the Vikings' day with yet another PR, as she placed 60th with a time of 33:24.0.
"The women also all saw significant improvement," said Santina. "Lauren and Juliana broke through for some big improvements while spending a lot of time dual sporting with basketball. Very proud of Gracelyn for her effort while having a tough week. Taryn saw her best race of the season by a significant amount. Congrats to Campbell on running a very strong race and finishing First-Team All Conference."
After success at the UMAC Championships, the Vikings near the end of the cross country season as they set their eyes on Nov. 15 for the NCAA North Regional Championships in Colfax, Wis.
