The University of Minnesota Duluth cross country program put up a strong performance in today's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Cross Country Championships, taking home a 2nd place team finish in the Men's 8k and a 6th place team finish in the Women's 6k.

This year's NSIC Cross Country Championships, hosted by the University of Mary in Bismarck, pitted the best of the conference against each other. Prior to the start of the season, both Men's and Women's programs for UMD were projected to finish fourth overall in the conference. The Men's program finished in 2nd place just four points behind Augustana, their highest placing since 2017 where they also finished in second. The Women's program finished in 6th place with 132 points, just 15 points behind Sioux Falls.

NSIC Athlete to Watch senior Jack Van Kempen led the pack for the Bulldogs in the Men's 8k competition. Van Kempen finished 10th overall with a total time of 24:49.70 throughout UMD's second place finish. Senior Nick Jacobson crossed the finish line next for the team, ending in 11th place overall with a total time of 24:56.10. Senior Austin Antony (12th - 24:56.50), senior Owen Dickenson (13th - 24:56.60), and fifth year senior Lucas Selman (14th - 24:57.30) rounded out the scoring for this race.

With their performance today, each of UMD's top five runners qualified for an all conference team. Jack Van Kempen was named to the All Conference First Team, while Nick Jacobson, Austin Antony, Owen Dickenson, and Lucas Selman were named to the All Conference Second Team!

Senior Lauryn Renier lived up to her honor of UMD's NSIC Athlete to Watch, crossing the finish line first today for the Bulldogs. Renier finished 18th overall with a total time of 21:40.30 throughout UMD's sixth place finish. Senior Franny Seidel would come in behind her, finishing 26th overall with a total time of 22:05.40. Senior Maddie Verkerke (28th - 22:10.50), senior Erika Swanson (29th - 22:11.20), and junior Savannah Schley (39th - 22:37.20) rounded out UMD's top five in this race.

With her 18th place performance today, Lauryn Renier qualified for the NSIC All Conference Second Team!

"It was a great day of racing for the Bulldogs. I was so proud of their competitive confidence throughout the whole race. We put ourselves out there and executed so well. We are going to keep the competitive momentum rolling at regionals!" - Head Coach Brette Jensen.

For full race results, please visit the preliminary results page here. 

UP NEXT

Bulldog Cross Country now looks forward to the NCAA Central Region Championships on Saturday, Nov. 4, in Joplin, Mo.