2005 NSU Cross Country Awards

Most Valuable Female Runner- Lindsey Lesnar-
Lindsey was Named NSIC Runner of the Week for her performance at the Roe Granger Inv. Battling Mono through the second half of the season Lindsey led the Wolves to a 3 rd place finish at the NSIC Conference meet with her second strain All Conference performance.

Most Valuable Male Runner- Jeremy VanVeen
Jeremy was twice named NSIC Runner of the Week. He finished 3 rd in the NSIC Championships and was the 2 nd NSIC Runner at the NCAA North Central Regional finishing 36 th place, Northern’s second highest individual finish ever.

Outstanding Female Freshman- Valerie Moore
Valerie ran in NSU’s top 4 all season and ran #1 for the Wolves at the Jamestown Jimmie Invitational. She finished 18 th at the NSIC Championships and was the 10 th NSIC finisher and the first NSIC Freshmen finisher at the NCAA North Central Regional Meet.

Outstanding Male Freshmen- Danny Scott
Danny ran in NSU’s top five in every meet of the season. He finished 12 th place at the NSIC meet and was the 3 rd true freshman in the race.

Most Improved Female Runner- Tosha West
Tosha made huge improvements throughout the season working her way into the Wolves top five at the NSIC Championships. She established herself as one of the Wolves most consistent runners and has a bright future here at NSU.

Most improved Male Runner- Trent Waage
Trent as always been a fantastic workout runner, but this year he became one of the Wolves consistent racers. He made great improvements all season capping off his Sophomore year with the best race of his career at the NCAA North Central Regional finishing 51 st Place.

Most Inspirational Female Runner- Erin Dreis
Erin exemplifies what the NSU program is all about. Hard work, dedication, and putting your team mates first. She has had to deal with some incredibly difficult situations over the past 4 years that would have caused most people to give up, and understandably so, but her spirit has been unbreakable. “She is one of the most inspirational athletes I have ever met and one of the strongest young women I have had the pleasure to work with.” Said Coach Eric Hunt.

Most Inspirational Male Runner- Brad Plack
If you could describe Brad’s career at NSU in one word it would be adversity. Brad has fought through sickness and injuries his whole career and the week after Conference he thought his season was over. Battling Mono he fought through to ran the best two races of his career at Conference and Regions. He was the Wolves number 4 Finisher at the NCAA North Central Regional meet after taking nearly a week off to attempt to recover from his illness.

North Central Regional Cross Country Championship

Men 12 th Women 20 th At NCAA North Central Regional Championships

The NSU Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams concluded their seasons on Saturday November 5 th at the NCAA North Central Regional Cross Country Meet in Hays, KS. The men placed 12 th out of 23 teams and were the 2 nd highest placing NSIC team. They were paced by JR Jeremy VanVeen (Milbank, SD) who placed 36 th place covering the 10,000m course in 33:51. VanVeen was followed closely by Sophomores Matt Walberg in 45 th and Trent Waage (Both of Aberdeen, SD) in 51 st Place. Their times were 34:22 and 34:34 respectively. “I thought overall our men had a good day,” said Coach Eric Hunt. “We got out near the front and competed like we deserved to be up there. I thought we had several great performances highlighted by Brad Plack (SR- Madison, SD). Brad had the best two races of his career at the Conference and Regional meets. That is what Senior’s are supposed to do.”

The Women also had a great day finishing 20 th in the field of 26 teams. They were the 3 rd NSIC team, equaling their finish at the Conference Meet two weeks earlier. The women were lead by Sophomore Jenny Rose (Huron, SD) who finished 86 th in a time of 24:47. Running side by side with Rose for much of the race and finishing just nine seconds behind her was Freshman Valerie Moore ( Ipswich, SD). “I thought our women had a solid day,” said Coach Hunt. “We got out much more aggressively than we had the past few weeks and it really paid off. If you score just the NSIC schools we moved up one spot from the conference meet, and that was one of our goals for the Regional meet. Our girls have done a great job all season of working together and running in packs and they continued to do that today. The last 400m of the race was strait into a pretty stiff wind and I thought both of our teams finished strong. There were a lot of athletes loosing ground that last 400m but across the whole team we were moving up and picking up spots all the way through the finish. The kids ran with a lot of heart today and that always impresses me.”Website
Preview

Men's Results | Women's Results

NSIC Cross CountryChampionship

Glyndon, Minn. - The Northern State University cross country teams competed in the NSIC Championships on Saturday October 22 in Moorhead, MN. The women were again paced by Senior Lindsey Lesnar ( Webster, SD) who finished 9 th place. “I thought our women had a good day,” said Coach Hunt. “We knew it would take a solid run by our team to finish in the top 3 and we did just that. We got out a bit conservative the first mile but we fought back and really picked off a lot of people in the last mile. We recently found out that Lindsey has had Mono for about the past six weeks, which makes her All Conference finish that much more impressive.”

The NSU Men finished 2 nd to Wayne State College and were lead by Jr Jeremy VanVeen ( Milbank, SD) who finished 3 rd place. “ Wayne had a really fantastic day,” said Coach Hunt. “We knew it would be a battle and it was just that. We had 7 runners in front of their 5 th, but it just wasn’t enough on that day. Jeremy’s wife had a baby 7 days before the meet so for him to finish 3 rd after a draining week like that was pretty impressive. I thought our 5-7 guys had a great race, especially Brad Plack. We found out that Brad also has had Mono for the past month to six weeks and he had the best race of his career.” The Wolves will return to action at the NCAA North Central Regional hosted by Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS on Saturday November 5th.
Men's Results
Women's Results

* denotes All Conference

Jeremy Van Veen Named NSIC Athlete of the Week

10/11/05
Jeremy Van Veen, a junior from Aberdeen, S.D., has been named NSIC Cross Country Athlete of the Week. Van Veen finished second at the Jamestown Invitational, covering the hilly 8000 meter course in a time of 26:32. He was the top NSIC finisher in the race.

Jenny Rose was named honorable mention.

Wolves Run Well In Jamestown Despite Missing Key Athletes

The NSU Cross Country team competed in the Jimmie Invitational hosted by Jamestown College on Friday October 7 th. The Men’s team was lead by Jeremy VanVeen ( Jr- Milbank, SD). Jeremy finished 2 nd in the field of 51 runners covering the hilly 8000m course in 26:32. “Jeremy had a great race today.” said coach Hunt. “His races are starting to show that his is in the kind of shape his workouts have been showing all season.” The men’s team placed 3 rd in the meet, only 2 points out of first place. The wolves were also running without the 2004 NSIC XC Champion Matt Scott. “Matt was a little sore this week so we decided to pull him from the race. I have no doubts he will be back full strength in two weeks at the conference meet.” The wolves also had a strong run by freshman Danny Scott ( Watertown, SD). “Danny had a great race,” exclaimed coach Hunt, “He really closed up our four to five gap, which had been a problem for us earlier in the season.”

The women’s team was also competing without one of their key athletes, senior Lindsey Lesnar, who was out due to illness. “We had two of our underclassmen really step up in Lindsey’s absence,” said coach Hunt. “Valerie Moore and Jenny Rose had great runs today. Both of them ran their fastest 5ks of the season on a tough course and a tough day to run. Our women have really been progressing over the past few weeks. There workouts show that they are in great shape and I think they will be ready to roll after a bit of rest in the next couple weeks before conference.” The wolves will take next weekend off before traveling to Moorhead, MN for the NSIC Championships on Saturday October 22 nd.

Men Finished 3rd of five teams.
Women Finished 5th of six teams.

NSU MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RANKED 10TH IN USTFCCA NORTH CENTRAL REGION

For the first time since moving to NCAA Division II in 1995 the NSU Men’s Cross Country team cracked the top ten in the North Central Regional Rankings according to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA). The North Central Region is by far the deepest in Division II with six schools currently ranked in the top 20 in the National Polls.

Roy Griak Invitational

St. Paul, Minn. - The NSU Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams competed in the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational on a cool, rainy morning on Saturday September 24 th. The Women’s team was again paced by Senior Lindsey Lesnar ( Webster, SD). Lesnar covered the 6000m course in 24:52 placing 90 th in a field of 279 runners. The women finished 22 nd as a team. “Most of our women’s team went through the mile a bit too conservative, said Coach Hunt, “but they again did a great job of working together and picking off runners throughout the second and third miles. I though our Freshmen girls ran exceptionally well this week with Valerie Moore (Ipswich, SD) and Tosha West (Aberdeen, SD) finishing 2 nd and 4 th on our team. I think Valerie passed about 75 runners from the mile mark to the finish,” said Coach Hunt.

The men were lead by Sophomore Matt Walberg ( Aberdeen, SD) who placed 70 th in the field of 411 runners in a time of 27:03. He was followed closely by Junior Jeremy VanVeen ( Milbank, SD) who finished 71 st in 27:05. The men’s team placed 19 th in the field of 42 teams, recording their highest Griak finish ever. “I thought our men had a good race,” said coach Hunt. “We are well on our way to being the team we know we can be by the end of the season.”

The Wolves will take next weekend off before returning to action at the Jimmie Invitational at Jamestown College on Friday October 7th.

NSIC Names Van veen & Lesnar Athletes of the Week

St. Paul, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has selected Northern State’s Jeremy Van Veen and Lindsey Lesnar the NSIC Cross Country Athletes of the Week.

At the Roe Granger Invitational at Northern State, Van Veen led the Wolves to its first victory of the season. Van Veen, a junior from Milbank, S.D., posted a time of 26:39 to finish second place and was the Wolves’ top finisher.

Lesnar, a senior from Webster, S.D., led the Wolves’ women’s team with her fourth place finish at the Roe Granger Invitational. She toured the 5,000 meter course in a time of 20:42.

Roe Granger

NSU Men Win Roe Granger Invitational!
RESULTS

The Northern State University Cross Country Team opened up their season at home with the Roe Granger Invitational on Friday September 9 th. The men fought through the heat and humidity of the day to record their first victory of the season outscoring The University of Mary, Jamestown College, and Presentation College 34 to 44, 47, and 110 respectively. The Wolves placed 4 men in the top 10 in the meet with Jeremy VanVeen (Jr.- Milbank, SD) leading the charge with a second place finish. “Our men had a great race today,” said Coach Eric Hunt. “It is always nice to get a win, especially on your home course. We competed hard and we are well ahead of where I had hoped we would be at this time of the year.”

The Women’s team also had an impressive first outing finishing 3 rd in the 4 team meet. They were lead by Lindsey Lesnar (Sr.- Webster, SD) with a 4 th place finish. “Our women ran well against a couple of tough teams today,” said Coach Hunt. “We did a great job of working together and down the road that will pay off tremendously. I thought our freshmen ran extremely well in their first cross country 5k. We have the potential to be a great team when the championship meets come around at the end of the season. I am excited to see what these girls can do after a few more weeks of hard work.” The Wolves return to action in two weeks at the University of Minnesota Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, MN.

Team Scores

Men- NSU- 34, U of Mary- 44, Jamestown College- 47, Presentation College- 110

Women- Jamestown College- 30, U of Mary- 35, NSU- 56, Presentation College- 11

CC TEAMS EARN ACADEMIC AWARD

NSU WRAPS-UP 2004 CROSS COUNTRY SEASON

The 2004 Northern State University Cross Country team completed a very successful season. The Wolves had 6 First Team All NSIC selections including Matt Scott, NSU’s first individual Cross Country Champion since 1987.

The Men won their first NSIC Title placing all five scoring runners in the top 13 and scoring 34 points. The Women placed third equaling their performance in 2003.

First Year Coach Eric Hunt was voted 2004 Men’s NSIC Coach of the Year.

At the NCAA North Central Regional the Men placed 14 th and the women 17 th. The Men were the top team in the NSIC and the women moved up one spot from the conference meet with the 2 nd highest NSIC finish.

Neither team graduates any seniors so the future looks very bright for the NSU Wolves.

NSIC All Conference Selections

Lindsey Lesnar (Junior, Webster, SD) – 2 nd Place
Jenny Rose (Freshman, Huron, SD) – 6 th Place (Top NSIC Freshman)
Matt Scott (Sophomore, Watertown, SD) – NSIC Champion
Nick White (Junior, Huron, SD) – 5 th Place
Matt Walberg (Freshman, Aberdeen, SD) – 7 th Place
Trent Waage (Freshman, Aberdeen, SD) – 8 th Place

Academic All-NSIC Selections

Erin Dreis (Junior, Aberdeen, SD)
Carrie Kleindl (Sophomore, Graceville, MN)
Lindsey Lesnar (Junior, Webster, SD)
Nick White (Junior, Huron, SD)

NSIC Athletes of the Week

Lindsey Lesnar (Junior, Webster, SD)
Jenny Rose (Freshman, Huron, SD)
Matt Walberg (Freshman, Aberdeen, SD)
Matt Scott (Sophomore, Watertown, SD)

NSIC Athlete of the Year

Matt Scott (Sophomore, Watertown, SD) – NSIC Conference Champion

Aberdeen American News Athlete of the Week

Matt Scott (Sophomore, Watertown, SD)

Most Valuable Runner

Lindsey Lesnar (Junior, Webster, SD)
Matt Scott (Sophomore, Watertown, SD)

Most Improved Runner

Erin Fry (Sophomore, Lisbon, ND)
Jason Shephard (Sophomore, Cavalier, ND)

Outstanding Freshman

Jenny Rose (Freshman, Huron, SD)
Matt Walberg (Freshman, Aberdeen, SD)

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