MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-- North Central Cross Country welcomes the largest group of returners in program history this fall and they should be geared to compete well at in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and the the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II National Championship Meet.
Women's Coach Bree Williamson (2nd year) returns four of the five fastest runners from the 2009 team that finished sixth at the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Championship and claimed the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II National Invitational Championship. Junior Catherine Mead (Liberty Twp, Ohio/Cincinnati Christian) and sophomore Michelle Hubbell (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas) give the Rams a potent All-Conference 1-2 punch after they finished fourth and fifth respectively a the 2009 UMAC Championships. They are also first and second in the NCU All-Time 5K & 6K record books respectively. Junior Carica Onyshuk (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) and sophomore Meghan Smith (St Croix Falls, Wis./St Croix Falls) round out the top four returners for the Rams Women Harriers this fall. Together North Central returns seven of nine runners from the 2009 roster.
The women will be bolstered by a pair of freshman with state championship experience. Kara Montanez (Carrollton, Ill./Carrollton) qualified for the 2009 Illinois High School State Championship where she posted a 20:04 three-mile race personal best. Jessica Hubbell (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas) was a member of her high school team that reached the Iowa state championship in 2008.
NCU Men's Coach Trey Meadows (5th year) must replace four-time NCCAA DII All-American, 2009 UMAC Conference Champion, and NCU 8K record holder Daniel Bare (Portage, Wis/Portage) but has a list of returners who are gunning for big things in 2010. Leading the charge of eight returners is senior David Calhoun (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) who ran to a 12th place and All-UMAC performance at the 2009 conference championship in his first season as a cross country runner. Junior Jeff Winkelman (Stevens Point, Wis./Stevens Point) was the third fastest Ram in 2009 and should be ready to move into contention for a 2010 All-Conference spot after exploding at last seasons NCCAA DII National Championship Invitational where he earned a fifth place finish. Juniors Owen Hein (Montevideo, Minn./Montevideo), Jay Beichley (Gladbrook, Iowa/Gladbrook-Reinbeck) and sophomore Austin Muchow (Minneapolis, Minn/Maranatha Academy) are back to round out the top five returners for NCU this season.
For the men, two new additions to the team give the Rams a strong chance to improve on their fourth place UMAC Championship finish in 2009. Freshman Josiah Miller (Spring Green, Wis./River Valley) was a 2009 Wisconsin High School State Championship Qualifier and ran to a career best 16:38 PR. Transfer Isaac Van Proosdy (Austin, Minn./Austin) comes in with big potential after two years away from running and should give the Rams their fastest top seven in history.
North Central will open the season with both teams running at the Bassett Creek Early Bird Invitational in Crystal, Minnesota on Wednesday, September 1. The nine meet schedule includes the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.) Roy Griak Invitational on September 25 and the Northland College (Ashland, Wis.) UMAC Conference Preview Meet on October 2. The season wraps up with the 2010 UMAC Conference Championships hosted by Northland College on October 30 and, pending qualification, the NCCAA National Championship meet hosted by Cedarville University on November 13,
For the full 2010 NCU Cross Country schedule, including links to the meets where you can find Google Maps for each location and race times visit the schedule page for each team.
