The Augustana women's cross country team won its third consecutive conference championship while the men's team won its first NSIC conference championship Saturday in Bemidji, Minn.

In addition, cross country coach Tracy Hellman has been named Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. The women, who won the 2008 NSIC Championship and the North Central Conference Championship in 2007, finished in first place with 38 points. Minnesota Duluth was the next closest competitor with 57 points while U-Mary came in third with 81 points.

Augie finished with four runners in the top 10, including senior Molly Clark who ran the course in 22:30.0, earning her a second place finish. Freshman Kyle Blakeslee came in sixth with a time of 22:52.2 followed closely by junior Miriam Hovda who finished in 22:52.7. Senior Jillian Tholen finished ninth, running the course in 23.11.1.

The Vikings also had three more who finished in the top 20. Freshman Leah Hansen earned a 14th place finish after coming in at 23:23.7. Freshman Annie Pfeifle completed the race in 23:27.7 and senior Caitlin Polgreen came in at 23:30.8 to earn 16th and 18th place, respectively. On the men's side, Augie finished with 36 points, beating Minnesota State who came in with 68 points and MSU Moorhead who had 86 points.

The Augie men also put four runners in the top 10, with sophomore Tom Karbo finishing in second place in 25:45.8. Senior Matt Braithwaite finished fourth in a time of 22:55.0 with sophomore Travis Beniak taking fifth with a time of 26:04.0. Senior Austin Vande Berg finished in eighth place in 26:21.6. Finishing in the top 20 was freshman Ryan Evans, completing the course in 26:48.0 for a 17th place finish, and junior Daniel Black, who finished in 26:55.9 to earn 19th place.

The Vikings will compete again at the Regional Meet in Wayne, Neb. on Nov. 7.
*Courtesy: Augie Sports Information