Mavericks cross country ready to compete in regionals
Coming off one of their better meets in many seasons, the team looks to run up the competition in Joplin
Bobbi Patrick
Staff Writer
The Minnesota State Mavericks men’s and women’s cross country teams both competed in the NSIC conference meet in Aberdeen, South Dakota, both teams placing in their highest position in years.
The lady Mavericks placed 3rdas a team, behind University of Mary (16 points) and Augustana (54 points), who are both top five teams in the nation right now. The Mavericks 3rdplace finish is the highest conference team finish in 10 years for the women.
“We lost two runners early in the season and we had been running decent, but still lacking some confidence. This weekend was a huge confidence boost for the team and proved that they can step up to the next level,” said women’s head cross country coach Jen Blue.
The women were led by senior Lily Paul, who placed 9thand earned all-conference honors with a time of 21:44.9 and junior Bobbi Patrick finished 22ndwith a time of 22:21.1.
Other members of the conference team include sophomore Ivy Glade (22:52.7,31st), senior Josie Braaten (22:54.3, 32nd), freshman Amanda Montplaisir (22:55, 34th), freshman Haley Leger (23:37.7, 44th), junior Jaylynn Lauer (24:08.9, 69th), senior MacKenzie Dockendorf (25:09.9, 99th) and sophomore Sarah Turpen (26:15.3, 124th).
“I knew we could be 3rd, but it was going to take everyone to compete and run out of their comfort zone and they all stepped up to the plate,” said Blue.
On the men’s side, the Mavericks placed 4thwith two runners, Austin Yardley and Austin Pasch, who received all-conference honors.
Yardley place eighth with a time of 24.36.6, while Pasch placed tenth with a time of 24:38.9.
“We had a pretty good day at conference given we held out our fourth runner, Jacob Wahlers, due to illness,” said men’s head cross country coach Chris Rombough.
Other top conference runners included senior Caleb Burke (25:15.5, 23rd), junior Isaiah Rabata (25:44.1, 34th), freshman Ben Schmied (26:23.6, 62nd) and freshman Christopher Groth (26:41.9, 68th).
“We have three of the top 14 ranked teams in the country in our region, so we need to have our best day possible and hope for a slip-up or two from some of the teams in front of us,” said Rombough.
The men and women cross country teams compete Nov. 17 at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship in Joplin, Missouri. The teams will see if they can receive a national bid to attend the NCAA National meet on Dec. 1 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Feature photo by Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter.