Impressive Cross Country results

[JackJD]

SDSU senior Brad Lowery, convincingly won the Jim Drews Invitational today at La Crosse, WI. Included in the field was the defending NCAA D-I champ, Simon Bairu from Wisconsin (5th in the race). Bairu won the big Griak meet at U of MN two weeks ago...Lowery finished 9th in that one. The SDSU men finished 5th in team scoring.

On the women's side, sophomore Becka Mansheim finished 2nd in the women's race and the Jackrabbit women finished 2nd in the team score.

Team finishes :

Men (23 teams entered): 1. U of Wisconsin-Madison (46); 2. U of Minnesota (52); 3. U of Wisconsin-La Crosse (115); 4. Iowa State (152); 5. SDSU (155)....other teams: Minnesota-Duluth 13th; NDSU 14th.

Women (22 teams entered): 1. UW-La Crosse (72); 2. SDSU (80)....other teams: Iowa State in 9th; U of Minnesota in 11th; NDSU in 16th; MN-Duluth in 17th.

Complete results:
Men's team: http://www.pttiming.com/Results/XC05.../Mens_Team.htm
Men's individual: http://www.pttiming.com/Results/XC05...ensOverall.htm
Women's team: http://www.pttiming.com/Results/XC05...WomensTeam.htm
Women's individual: http://www.pttiming.com/Results/XC05...WomensTeam.htm

347 runners in the men's race and 358 runners in the women's race. In a big meet like this one, the announcer gives progress reports during the race (made possible by electronic chips the runners wear) ...fun to hear SOUTH DAKOTA STATE's name as leading the race and battling for the lead.

[JackJD]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

Here's the official story on SDSU's web-site on the men:
http://www3.sdstate.edu/Athletics/Va...cfm?Id=46,4590

I didn't see the link on the women...presume the story is in the works. Check the official site!

[JackJD]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

Here's the SDSU site's story on Becka Mansheim's and the women's second places finishes at the big meet in Wisconsin:
http://www3.sdstate.edu/Athletics/Ne...cfm?Id=46,4591

[JackJD]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

Here's how the Wisconsin Badgers' official site reported the Drews meet...

Badgers Capture Third Straight Jim Drews Title

MADISON, Wis. - The No. 2 Wisconsin men’s cross country team captured its third consecutive Jim Drews Invitational title Saturday in West Salem, Wis. The team scored a meet-best 46 points in the 23-team Invitational. South Dakota State’s Brad Lowery finished first of 347 runners with a time of 24:12.6.

[jackmd]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

It appears the Yankton paper thinks USD has the best CC teams in the state. Care to enlighten everyone JD?

USD Headed To NCC X-C Meet Saturday


VERMILLION -- The nationally-ranked South Dakota men's and women's cross country squads have high hopes as they head to the North Central Conference Championships in Grand Forks, N.D., which begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The South Dakota women's cross country team, which is ranked 24th in the Cross Country Coaches Association Poll, will seek its fourth-straight NCC title on Saturday. Coyotes' head coach Rob Kinnunen was named the women's NCC Coach of the Year for the third straight year in 2004 after USD outdistanced Augustana, 39 to 70 points, to win its third straight NCC title. After winning the league title a year ago, USD went on to finish 11th at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Evansville, Ill., last Nov. 20.

Aimee Nielsen, who has earned two NCC Women's Athlete of the Week honors this fall for South Dakota, will again lead USD. A year ago, Nielsen of Mason City, Iowa, was third at the NCC meet. Two other runners on last year's team - Mary Bennett of Scotland, and Kaylee Keating of Sioux Falls, finished fourth and eighth, respectively, and will again be key members for the South Dakota women's squad. USD had never won a women's title before 2002, but now has won three straight titles. The Coyote women's team has never had an individual cross country champion.



The South Dakota men's team, which is ranked 23rd in the national cross country poll, will look for its first team title, since winning two straight league crowns in 1997-98. The Coyotes have won four overall titles (1998, 1997, 1995, and 1994).

A year ago, USD was third in the NCC meet with 66 points (MSU won it with 50 points). USD's highest finish since winning it all in 1998, was its second-place finish in 2002.

If the Coyotes break a seven-year title drought, it will be led by senior Tony Turgeon of Sioux Falls. Turgeon has been one of the best cross country performers this season and will try and become USD's first individual champion (six overall) on the men's side, since Matt Hoyt won his second-straight individual title in 1998. Turgeon has three individual titles and three second place victories in meets this fall. In earning a second place finish at the SDSU meet on Sept. 31 in Brookings, Turgeon clocked a 25:07.25, which is an all-time best for him. A year ago at the NCC meet, he finished second by covering the 8K course in 25:22.88 and leading the USD men to a third-place finish.

If the Coyotes are to contend, USD will also need a strong performance from junior Tyler Wetering of Sioux Falls. Wetering was named the NCC Athlete of the Week on Oct. 11, after clocking a season and personal best of 25:10.16 at the Coyote Invitational at the Don Baker Cross Country Course in Vermillion on Oct. 7. Other key members will include Matt Yaggie (Mission Hill) and Matt Dewald (Yankton) who have both clocked times under 27 minutes, as well as, Nate Seier (Dubuque, Iowa), Doug Galbavy (Lennox), Dustin Letcher (Freeman), and Josh Blue (Council Bluffs, Iowa).

The championships, to be hosted by the University of North Dakota, will be held at the Ray Richards Golf Course in Grand Forks, N.D. UND is hosting the meet for the first time since 1995.

The 6K women's race will begin at 11 a.m. The men's race will be held immediately following the women's race on Saturday.

[jackmd]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

To quote the JD from earlier posts:

SOME USD PEOPLE HAD BEEN SUGGESTING THE COYOTES MIGHT GIVE THE JACKRABBITS A RUN ON THE GOLF COURSE AFTER A NICE USD PERFORMANCE AT IOWA STATE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.  WELL, THAT CRAZY NOTION WAS DESTROYED THIS MORNING.  

I'm going to do some analysis comparing the SDSU team with USD...USD ran well in the D-II race, led by Tony Turgeon's 2nd place finish and Tyler Wettering's 3rd place finish.  BUT, one needs to note that SDSU's top SEVEN runners ran faster than the USD's third finisher.  (In cross country, a team's first five are scored and its next two act as "pushers" which means then do not count for points but they can push back other point-scoring runners from other teams to worse finishing places.  SDSU ran 11 runners and the 8th Jackrabbit ran faster than the fourth USD runner.  SDSU's 10th runner would have been the 4th finisher for NDSU!!  

Note the following:
USD's women's team finished 4th in the D-II race. The USD women are a good D-II team but note the following: USD's top runner finished 4th in the D-II race with a time of 22:08. SDSU's top finisher, Becka Mansheim, was 34th in the D-I race WITH A TIME OF 22:01. !!!

Becka's time in the D-1 race was 5 seconds slower than the winner's time in D-2.

Some people just don't get it but eventually they will.

[JackJD]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

SDSU's men and women cross country runners started strong and were better teams than USD at the start of the season.  SDSU has improved throughout the season and would beat USD even more at this stage.

USD's men and women are very good teams...probably the top in the NCC.   But, they cannot compete well with SDSU.

I think USD would not claim its men or women are better than SDSU.  They've seen what the Jacks can do and I think they're happy SDSU isn't around to take yet another NCC crown.  In cross country, SDSU's men won more NCC titles than all of the other teams COMBINED.  

At the big U of MN Griak meet a few weeks ago, SDSU finished 18th in a meet that featured 15 of the country's top teams.  Last weekend in Wisconsin, the Jacks looked great while missing a couple of runners and other runners having some difficulties.  Brad Lowery is solidly established as one of the top runners in the United States...no question about that.  (In winning last weekend, Brad beat the defending D-1 national champ.)

I'm not too tough on USD...after all, they made the smart move a few years ago when they hired head track coach, Dave Gottsleben, a Jackrabbit sprinter (1975 grad).

Rabbit runners are off this weekend...next race is the D-1 independents championships in Texas.  Jacks want to win.

[jackmd]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

SDSU's men and women cross country runners started strong and were better teams than USD at the start of the season.  SDSU has improved throughout the season and would beat USD even more at this stage.

USD's men and women are very good teams...probably the top in the NCC.   But, they cannot compete well with SDSU.

I think USD would not claim its men or women are better than SDSU.  They've seen what the Jacks can do and I think they're happy SDSU isn't around to take yet another NCC crown.  In cross country, SDSU's men won more NCC titles than all of the other teams COMBINED.  

At the big U of MN Griak meet a few weeks ago, SDSU finished 18th in a meet that featured 15 of the country's top teams.  Last weekend in Wisconsin, the Jacks looked great while missing a couple of runners and other runners having some difficulties.  Brad Lowery is solidly established as one of the top runners in the United States...no question about that.  (In winning last weekend, Brad beat the defending D-1 national champ.)

I'm not too tough on USD...after all, they made the smart move a few years ago when they hired head track coach, Dave Gottsleben, a Jackrabbit sprinter (1975 grad).

Rabbit runners are off this weekend...next race is the D-1 independents championships in Texas.  Jacks want to win.

My intention is only take educate those who might not understand. I take nothing away from USD, they have a good DII X-C team. SDSU, on the other hand, has a good DI X-C team. As long as the athletes understand this I suppose thats all that matters but it would be nice for the "common" South Dakotan to know this too. I think a lot do but there are those who could use some "education".

[JackJD]

Re: Impressive Cross Country results

I agree, JackMD.

Keep an eye on the running 'Rabbits!!