Hailey Harren
Sarah Bernhardson
Laura Edlund
The Gustavus women’s cross country team will take part in the MIAC Championships this Saturday at 3:00 pm at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn. The Gusties will be battling for an upper division finish, while Hailey Harren will look to claim the individual title for the second consecutive year.
Gustavus Women’s Preview
Head Coach: Jed Friedrich (Third year)
Athletes to Watch:
Hailey Harren, Sr., Cold Spring, Minn. (1st at Roy Griak Invite, 1st at Tori Neubauer Invite, 2005 MIAC Champion, 2005 NCAA National Champion, 2005 MIAC Runner of the Year)
Sarah Bernhardson, Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn. (3rd at UWRF Invite, 4th at St. Olaf Invite, 46th at 2005 MIAC meet)
Laura Edlund, Jr., Forest Lake, Minn. (6th at Wartburg Invite, 32nd at 2005 MIAC meet)
Preview: The Gustavus women’s cross country team will be shooting for another top five finish at the MIAC Championships after placing fourth in 2005. The Gusties will be led by senior Hailey Harren, the 2005 MIAC and NCAA individual champion. Harren has finished first in each of the four races that she has competed in during the regular season. She has recorded a personal best time in two of those four races including a time of 21:19 at the Tori Neubauer Invite on October 14.
Harren will be joined by a veteran group of runners that includes junior Sara Bernhardson, junior Laura Edlund, senior Val Berquam, junior Sarah Willis, senior Heidi Bulfer, sophomore Kelly Chaudoin, and junior Maari Hanson. Edlund and Bernhardson each scored for the Gusties at the MIAC Championships last year with Edlund placing 32nd and Bernhardson 46th.
2006 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Women’s Cross Country Championship Preview
The chase for the 26th MIAC Women’s Cross Country Championship will commence on October 28, 2006 at 3:00 pm at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul. Twelve teams will take on the challenging six- kilometer course for the right to be called the best of the MIAC. Carleton will enter the championship with intentions of claiming its third straight title. St. Thomas should also contend for the team title after finishing second in 2005. The Tommies are currently ranked 20th nationally in the USTFCCCA poll and Carleton is ranked 34th. With a strong senior class, St. Olaf will also be a team with the potential to earn the conference crown.
Reigning MIAC and NCAA individual champion Hailey Harren of Gustavus will be the runner to watch in the 2006 MIAC Women’s Cross Country Championship. Harren has won each of the four races she has entered this fall. St. Olaf sophomore Jenna Carlson should challenge Harren after an impressive fourth place finish in her first MIAC Championship last year. St. Thomas senior Jenny Olin returns after finishing seventh in 2005 along with Carleton sophomore Kate Meyer who finished ninth last season and St. Thomas sophomore Katie Theisen who finished 13th.
Augsburg
Augsburg’s women’s cross country team features a young roster, but has shown continual improvement throughout the 2006 season, and will aim for improvement from last year’s 10th place finish at the MIAC championships.
For the Auggies women, sophomore Sadie Dietrich has shown dramatic improvement from last season, improving her 6K personal-best time by nearly three minutes. Junior Liz Ehlers has been Augsburg’s No. 2 runner this season, and recorded a season-best 26:34.3 at the UW-River Falls Invite. Junior Andrea Schuster, Ashley Stoffers, and Sarah Peloquin have shown consistent times in the 28-minute range this season. Schuster has a season-best time of 27:51.86; Stoffers’ season-best is 28:36.4; and Peloquin’s season-best is 28:27.2. Andrea Slack is the lone senior on the roster, and is joined by Tori Bahr, and newcomers Helena Dougall and Jamie Simmons.
Bethel
The 2006 cross country season looks to build upon the foundation that began last year with the combining of the men’s and women’s programs under head coach Jim Timp.
There is good depth and talent returning on this year’s Royal squad. Nikki Umhoefer returns after a break-through year in 2005. In only her first year of college cross country competition, Nikki placed 18th at the NCAA Regional meet, narrowly missing a qualifying trip to the national meet. Joining Umhoefer as co-captain this year is Emily Hall. Others who will have an impact on this year’s team include juniors Hannah Carlson, Angie Mumbleau, and Emily Proehl; sophomores Belinda Allen, Jessie Betzler, Heather Jelen, and Rachel Morrissey. Jelen along with Umhoefer will provide one of the best one-two punches of any team in the MIAC.
Carleton
The Carleton College women’s cross country team, the two-time defending MIAC champions, brings a young team that is full of talent and experience, to the 2006 MIAC Championships, where hopefully they can become the third program in the MIAC history to win the conference title three years in a row.
The nationally-ranked Knights have posted three meet victories this season, at the Ele Hansen Invitational, St. Olaf Invitational and Roy Griak Invitational. Kate Meyer, who finished ninth at conference meet last year, and Karen Campbell (So./Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), who placed 25th, are returning this year as both earned all-region honors while Meyer also earned All-MIAC honors as a first-year competitor. The team also features two-time national competitor Heather Hoecker, who placed 28th at last year’s MIAC Championships, along with Kelsey Barale, who placed 51st, and Nora McIver-Sheridan, who is also returning national-meet team member.
The Knights also have a number of rookies who have had a significant impact on the team this year. Sarah Forzley, Eva Luderowski and Laura Roach have all made multiple appearances in the top seven.
Concordia
The 2006 edition of the Concordia women’s cross country team will feature more of a team concept and will rely less on one standout runner. This season, Concordia will have two solid runners competing for all-conference honors and a pack of athletes that will hopefully carry the team into the top five of the conference.
Heading into the MIAC Championship meet, Concordia is led by senior Rachel Charpentier and freshman Bergen Holzworth. The two have combined to lead the Cobbers at all five meets this season. The veteran Charpentier has led the Cobbers in three meets this season and was named the MIAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week for her stellar performance at the St. Olaf Pre-Regional Meet. Holzworth has shaken off the jitters of her freshman season and has progressed at a steady rate. After Charpentier and Holzworth look for Anna Hagen, Meagan Hansen, Erica Lundgren, and Rachel Dwyer to compete for a place in the top five spots on the team.
Gustavus Adolphus
The Gustavus women’s cross country team will be shooting for another top five finish at the MIAC Championships after placing fourth in 2005. The Gusties will be led by senior Hailey Harren, the 2005 MIAC and NCAA individual champion. Harren has finished first in each of the four races that she has competed in during the regular season. She has recorded a personal best time in two of those four races including a time of 21:19 at the Tori Neubauer Invite on October 14.
Harren will be joined by a veteran group of runners that includes junior Sara Bernhardson, junior Laura Edlund, senior Val Berquam, junior Sarah Willis, senior Heidi Bulfer, sophomore Kelly Chaudoin, and junior Maari Hanson. Edlund and Bernhardson each scored for the Gusties at the MIAC Championships last year with Edlund placing 32nd and Bernhardson 46th.
Hamline
Leading the way for first-year coach Paul Schmaedeke and the Pipers are seniors Melissa Francis and Lacee Schrupp. In the 2005 cross country season, Francis finished 18th overall at the MIAC Championships, while Schrupp, a 2004 All-MIAC performer after finishing 11th, placed 37th at the conference meet. Others expected to contribute for the Pipers include sophomore Freya Fitzer, and first-years Anna Banasik and Rachel Simmer.
Macalester
This year’s Macalester team does not have the depth of last year’s group which made it to nationals and spent much of the season in the Division III rankings, but an improvement upon the team’s fifth-place finishes from each of the last two years is a possibility. If the Scots can get a productive race from its fourth and fifth runners, they can contend for a high MIAC finish. Macalester tied Carleton for 10th-place — just a few points behind St. Olaf — at the Tori Neubauer Invitational and may be peaking at the right time.
Macalester is led by a pair of seniors Callie PaStarr and Anna Shamey. PaStarr placed 22nd at the Tori Neubauer Invitational as Mac’s top runner, while Shamey was 10th of 283 at the St. Olaf Invite. First year Erin Lowrey, one of the top newcomers in the MIAC this season, has been the team’s No. 3 runner in each of the last four races. Veterans who will be asked to run big races for the Scots include Kim Wortmann, Allie Woerpel, and Elizabeth Nelson.
St. Benedict
The College of Saint Benedict cross country team heads into the 2006 MIAC Championships with the hopes of moving into the top five after placing sixth a year ago.
Seniors Corey Hickner and Rose Spring have provided leadership and experience to the CSB squad this year., while juniors Kaylee Rasmussen and Kristin Haubrich have proven that they have what it takes to excel at the college level as well after finishing 45th and 52nd, respectively, at the MIAC Championships in 2005. Sophomores expected to contribute include Maggie Donahue, Britney Haeg and Sam VanWechel.
The Blazers strength will lie in a strong, tight pack with the hopes that their depth will provide the spark they need to move up into the top five at the MIAC Championships this year.
St. Catherine
New head coach Mike Henderson has been re-building the Wildcats program this year and has instilled a work ethic in his athletes that will help make St. Kate’s competitive in years to come.
Senior Nikki Burg has paced the Wildcats all season, including a school record 23:41 at the Tori Neubauer Invitational. Seniors Emily Deetz and Tiffany Scherber will look to finish with career best times at the MIAC Championships. Kristie Bronson has been the Wildcat’s #2 runner all season. She currently is the holder of the fourth best time in school history (24:23). The Wildcat cross country team has shown improvement all season and will be looking to build on that momentum in the following seasons.
St. Mary’s
With a year under his belt, Saint Mary’s University cross country coach Ward Berndt is feeling a little more relaxed heading into season No. 2. It doesn’t hurt that his women’s team returns virtually its entire team.
“Finishing eighth (at the MIAC meet) last year was disappointing, but I also think it’s worked as a driving force during off-season workouts,” stated Berndt. This year’s Cardinal team will be led by seniors Tera Bollig and Alicia Hartung, and junior Katie Boisjolie. Others expected to contribute at the conference meet include Anne Schutte, Ashley Davis, Sarah Zweber, and Kim Koecheler. The Cardinals finished 18th at the Griak Invitational and 20th at the Neubaurer Invite, while also winning the Martin Luther Invitational.
St. Olaf
The St. Olaf women are ready to return to the top of the MIAC after last year’s third place finish. Experienced seniors Stephanie Block, Brittney Schwager, and Erin Weier will lead the Oles. Weier was named the MIAC’s athlete of the week on Oct. 3.
Sophomore Jenna Carlson returns after a fourth place finish last year, while junior Jennie Hedberg will bring depth and experience to the team. She has consistently been in the Oles’ top five. St. Olaf placed second at the Pre-Regional meet, second at the Carleton Invitational, and third at the St. Olaf Invite this season.
St. Thomas
St. Thomas is looking to claim its first MIAC cross country team title since 1997. The Tommies have placed first or second in all four invitational races this fall and are ranked 20th in the latest Division III poll. Coach Joe Sweeney has guided the Tommies to 54 MIAC team championships (out of 74 contested) in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track in his 26-year era.
St. Thomas has been without two key runners this fall — junior Anne Iddins, the 2006 MIAC steeplechase runner-up, who is on study abroad, and sophomore Jane Dolan (26th in MIAC as freshman), who is slowly recovering from a two-month illness. But the Toms have kept improving. With senior Jenny Olin and sophomore Katie Theisen leading the way, the Tommies have a strong lead pair. Olin placed 7th, while Theisen finished 13th at last year’s conference meet. Senior Meghan Mayer, junior Kalsey Larson and freshmen Kelly Russ, Anna Glowacki and Alexandria Johnson have been steady all fall. St. Thomas posted an impressive second place finish at the Griak Invitational and completed the regular season with a first place finish at the 19-team Gettysburg Invitational.