WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS | WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS | MEN'S TEAM RESULTS | MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
DENVER - The Augustana women's and men's cross country teams are heading to the NCAA Championships after finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the Central Region Championship Saturday in Denver, Colo.
The Viking women netted 70 points, while the men totaled 116.
Western State won the women's title with 37 points. Western State's Lauren Kleppin was the individual champion with a time of 22:13 on the 6,000-meter course.
Adams State was the men's champion with 28 points. Western State's Gabriel Proctor won the men's race after finishing the 8,000-meter course in 32:10.
Leah Hansen was the top finisher for the Viking women, running the course in 22:59 to capture seventh place.
Paul Yak paced Augustana's men, finishing sixth with a time of 33:06.
Kristin Brondbo ran a time of 23:17 to take 11th, while
Kyle Blakeslee was 14th (23:36).
Finishing 17th and 21st was Annie Pfiefle (23:49) and
Kelly Kougl (24:19), respectively.
Tom Karbo placed 11th with a time of 33:28 and
Ryan Evans was 20th, running 33:56.
Adam Braun (34:26) and
Jordan Slusser (35:28) were 31st and 48th, respectively.
Rounding out the Viking men were TJ Gleason (35:37) and
Halvard Lange (36:21) in 50th and 71st, respectively.
The Vikings qualified for the national meet despite having to adjust to the altitude in Denver. Augustana was the highest-finishing NSIC team for both the women and men.
"We accomplished our goal of qualifying for the national meet," head coach
Tracy Hellman said. "It was very difficult having to qualify at altitude, but our athletes hung in there. We got some tremendous efforts today."
The top-five women's team and top-six men's team all qualify for the NCAA Championship. The top-two individuals that were not on qualifying teams will also go on to nationals.
Any runner finishing in the top-25 was also deemed all-region by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The NCAA Championship is slated for Nov. 19 in Spokane, Wash.
