NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The 2023 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women's cross country season reaches its apex this Saturday when runners from across the conference head to Carleton College's Bill Huyck Course in Northfield for the
2023 MIAC Cross Country Championships. This is the second time the Knights will host the conference championship meet, with the first being in 2019. The 12-team women's six-kilometer race is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, following the 11:00 a.m. men's 8K race.
Senior
Brenna Nelson and junior
Lily Harvey are the lone Wildcats on the roster who have appeared in the conference championship with three newcomers competing for the purple and gold. Nelson finished 94th last season with a time of 26:39.9 for her best tme at the conference championships in her time at St. Kate's. Harvey will appear in ther second championship having finished last season in 150th with a time of 28:51.3.
New to the event for St. Kate's are
Faduma Hassan,
Felicity Lamb and
Kaitlyn Peterson. Hassan's top performance of the rookie season was at the UW-La Crosse 6K on October 14 with a PR time of 28:08.9. Lamb secured her 6K time on September 16 at the Running of the Cows Meet hosted at Carleton clocking in at 29:31.1 and Peterson recorded her best performance at the UW-La Crosse meet with a time of 28:40.1.
CHAMPIONSHIP 101
Carleton is the defending MIAC team champion, having earned the program's 12th conference title in 2022. Since 1981, five different schools have won MIAC women's cross country championships. St. Thomas holds the MIAC record with 17 total team titles, including the first nine from 1981-89. Carleton ranks second all-time with 12 team championships, followed by St. Olaf with 10.
St. Thomas has had the most individual champions with 10, while Carleton and St. Olaf have the next most with six, and Bethel and Macalester have each had five race winners. Saint Benedict's
Fiona Smith (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) is the two-time defending individual champion and will be aiming to become the third woman in conference history to win three straight conference titles - a feat previously achieved by only Bethel's Marie Borner (2007-09) and Macalester's Julia Kirtland (1984-86).
HANDING OUT THE HARDWARE
Once the results of the 2023 MIAC Cross Country Championship are tabulated and deemed final, a short awards ceremony for both men's and women's races will follow around 1:15 p.m. The top 15 runners in each race will be honored with All-Conference distinction, while runners finishing in places 16-to-25 will be named Honorable Mention. The championship team will also be honored with the presentation of the MIAC Championship plaque.
Individual awards for Athlete, Rookie, and Coach of the Year will be announced on Thursday, November 2.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans who are not traveling to Northfield will have access to unofficial results soon after the action concludes courtesy of
Fast Finish Results.
The MIAC has a
championship home page for the event that will serve as the online home of the meet. The championship page will include results and photos as they become available.
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Championship Home Page |
Top Times |
Course Map |
Parking |
Unofficial Meet Results |
IN THE POLLS
Two MIAC squads are nationally ranked in the most recent
U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 35 Poll, released on October 18. Carleton is No. 4 in the nation while crosstown rival St. Olaf is No. 23.
The Knights rank first in the North Region in the latest
USTFCCCA Regional Rankings, released on October 17. The Oles are ranked No. 4 in the region, with Saint Benedict at No. 6.
