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MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's cross country team and senior women's runner
Molly Montonye will compete at the NCAA Division II National Championships on Saturday in St. Leo, Fla. The event will be held at the Abbey Course.
The event begins at 7:30 a.m. Central time with the men's 10K race while the women's 6K race will take place at 8:45 a.m. Central time.
It is the third straight trip to nationals for the Dragon men. They were 26th in 2014, which was their first trip to NCAA Division II nationals, and improved to 21st in 2015.
Led by all-region honorees
Cody Christ and
Josh Young, the Dragon men are confident heading to nationals. A year ago, they moved up five positions from the previous year and are seeking more progress in 2016.
"We are looking to improve on last season's performance and approach the top 10," MSUM associate track and field and cross country coach
Ryan Milner said. "Everybody is fit enough to have their best race."
Christ finished ninth at the Central Region meet. He has four top 10 finishes this season, including wins at the Dragon Twilight and Jimmie Invite. He was the NSIC runner-up.
Young has four top 15 finishes this year, including a 15th-place finish at the Central Region Meet. Senior
Brady Speicher finished 30th at the regional while freshman
Nadir Yusuf was 39th in 32:26.70 and sophomore
Joshua Ernst was 54th in 32:45.07. Junior
Jay Biwer was 67th in 32:58.93 followed by freshman
Logan Spooner in 113th (33:49.05).
Christ, Young, Speicher, Ernst and Biwer all were part of the 2015 nationals team. Yusuf and Spooner will compete for the first time.
On the women's side, Montonye will compete at cross country nationals for the first time in a decorated distance career at MSUM. She is a three-time All-American in track and field and finished a strong fourth overall at the regional meet to earn all-region honors.
"Earning the opportunity to race at the national meet is a goal that Molly has had her sights set on for sometime," Milner said. "I'm excited that she's accomplished that goal and will now have the chance to show that she can compete with the best cross country runners in NCAA DII."
