Dakota State Excels in DAC Cross Country Championship Meet
(Madison, SD) - The Dakota Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship Meet was scheduled for Saturday and was moved on Sunday (November 9) at the cold and wintry Madison Country Club. Dakota State had their best meet this season, according to Trojans' head cross country coach Trent Mack. The women's finished second place with team score of 54 points, the highest place finisher since joining the DAC Conference in 2000. The men's finished third with 94 points while Black Hills State and Dickinson State claimed the top two spots in the meet.
Two women's qualified to the NAIA National Cross Country Championship Meet - Stephanie Warnke and Madison native Kari Schaefer. Stephanie Warnke finished fourth with a time of 20:41.00 and she was named DAC Most Outstanding Freshman Female Runner. Schaefer finished ninth with a time of 21:22.59 and earned a spot at the nationals. They were also honored as DAC All-Conference. In addition, Madison native Clarice Bauer placed 13th (21:37.28) and Samantha Warnke 15th (21:52.04) and earned DAC All-Conference honors. Suzanne Swett missed one spot in earning DAC All-Conference as she finished 16th with a time of 22:01.49. Loni Van Regenmorter finished 34th with a time of 24:24.61 and Paula Kappenman 40th in 25:17.13.
Anthony Drealan and Tyler Van Peursem qualified to the NAIA National Cross Country Championship Meet for the men's. Drealan finished sixth with a time of 27:46.94 and Van Peursem eight in 28:01.54. They also had been named to DAC All-Conference honors. Other men's place finishers are Andrew Manning 31st in 30:21.45, John Bintliff 33rd in 30:24.90, Cody Foreman 40th in 31:41.59, Jeff Sawatzky 41st in 32:00.08, German Amezquita 43rd in 32:25.08, Kyle Sanderson 44th in 32:42.51, and Keith Huffman 45th in 32:51.00.
Stephanie Warnke, Schaefer, Drealan, and Van Peursem will prepare for the NAIA National Cross Country Championship Meet to be held in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday, November 22nd. The women's race will begin at 10:30 am with the men's race to follow.
