St. Cloud State Cross Country Set for NCAA Central Region Championships

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Cross Country travels to Joplin, Missouri this weekend to continue its postseason schedule at the 2024 NCAA Central Region Cross Country Championships. The 6,000-meter race will begin at 11:15 a.m. CT from the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course.

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FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Live results will be provided by Heartland Timing.

TEAMS AT THE MEET
Arkansas-Fort Smith, Arkansas Tech, Augustana, Central Missouri, Concordia-St. Paul, East Central (Okla.), Emporia State (Kan.), Fort Hays State (Kan.), Harding (Ark.), Minnesota Crookston, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Minot State, Missouri Southern, Missouri Western, MSU Moorhead, Nebraska Kearney, Newman (Kan.), Northern State, Northwestern Oklahoma, Northwest Missouri State, Oklahoma Baptist, Ouachita Baptist (Ark.), Pittsburg State (Kan.), Rogers State (Okla.), Sioux Falls, Southeastern Oklahoma, Southern Arkansas, Southern Nazarene (Okla.), St. Cloud State, UMary, Washburn (Kan.), Wayne State, Winona State

PR SPOTLIGHT
Cambrie Kowal – 23:26.9 --> 22:56.5
Alena Donahue – 24:27.1 --> 23:26.4
Abbygail Nunez – 24:34.1 --> 23:27.0
MerriAnna Johnson – 24:44.6 -->  23:40.7
Tegan Michalak – 25:20.8 -->  24:07.5
Audrey Rabitz – 26:59.0 -->  26:06.5
Mady Muehr – 27:54.5 -->  26:59.7

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State Cross Country raced to a 10^th place team finish at the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by Minot State at the Souris Valley Golf Course in Minot, N.D. on Oct. 26. Seven of the eight runners ran new personal bests, and one ran a new season-best time. The Huskies were picked to finish 14^th in the preseason coaches' poll.

For the second season in a row, senior Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) led the Huskies at the NSIC Championship meet. Kowal finished 50^th after running a new personal best time of 22:56.5. She improved her conference finish from a year ago by 28 places, her season best time from the Roy Griak Invitational by 1:48 and her personal best time from the 2022 NCAA DII Central Region Championships by 30 seconds.

Fellow senior Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.) was second on the Huskies in a new season-best time of 23:10.9. She placed 61^st and ran a 40 second season best, missing out on a new personal best just seven seconds.

Sophomore Alena Donahue (West Salem, Wis.) and freshmen Abbygail Nunez (South St. Paul, Minn.) and MerriAnna Johnson (Osceola, Wis,) rounded out the Huskies top five with personal best times and top 85 finishes. Donahue was 7^th in 23:26.4, Nunez ran 23:27.0 to place 77^th and Johnson ran 23:40.7, finishing 84^th. Donahue's new personal best was a 1:01 faster than her old best time, while Nunez and Johnson cut off 1:07 seconds and 1:04 off their previous bests that were set a week ago.

Sophomores Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.), Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.) and Mady Muehr (Greendale, Wis.) also ran to new personal bests in their first conference cross country meet. Michalak (24:07.5, 98^th) trimmed 1:13 off her personal best 6k time, Rabitz (26:06.5, 124^th) cut 53 seconds off her best time and Muehr (26:59.7, 136^th) was 55 seconds faster than her old personal best.

St. Cloud State at the 2024 NSIC Championships (6k)
Oct. 26, 2024 | Souris Valley Golf Course | Minot, N.D.

50. Cambrie Kowal - 22:56.5 PR
61. Greta Freed - 23:10.9 SB
75. Alena Donahue - 23:26.4 PR
77. Abbygail Nunez - 23:27.0 PR
84. MerriAnna Johnson - 23:40.7 PR
98. Tegan Michalak - 24:07.5 PR
124. Audrey Rabitz - 26:06.5 PR
136. Mady Muehr - 26:59.7 PR

Team: 10^th of 15

Results (Hero's Timing)
Results (TFRRS)
Results (PDF)

MEET HISTORY
Last season, the Huskies placed 29^th at the NCAA Central Region Championships. Then-junior Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) led the Huskies. Then-freshmen Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa) and Alena Donahue (West Salem, Wis.) finished third and fourth for SCSU and then-sophomore Hannah Little (Grimes, Iowa) was the fifth Husky. It was the first NCAA Regional race for Beason, Donahue and Little.

St. Cloud State at 2023 NCAA Central Region Championships
Nov. 4, 2023 | Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course | Joplin, Mo.

157. Cambrie Kowal – 24:15.59
167. Erica Conrad – 24:34.33
174. Paige Beason – 25:05.12
179. Alena Donahue – 25:14.95
188. Hannah Little – 25:54.59
199. Jaileen Medina – 26:30.67

Team: 29^th of 31

SEASON PREVIEW
St. Cloud State was selected to finish 14^th in the 2024 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coaches' Poll. Additionally, senior Cambrie Kowal (Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.) has been named an NSIC Athlete to Watch.

"I am excited for both the leadership and growing talent within this group," said second-year head coach Gabrielle Brown, "They are a predominately young group of individuals who are back and ready for more. The leaders of this team compliment the talents, vision, and efforts needed to make incremental change."

The Huskies roster is comprised of two seniors – Greta Freed (Rochester, Minn.) and Kowal, one junior – Hannah Little (Grimes, Iowa), five sophomores – Paige Beason (Ankeny, Iowa), Alena Donahue (West Salem, Wis.), Tegan Michalak (Arcadia, Wis.), Mady Muehr (Greendale, Wis.) and Audrey Rabitz (Manitowoc, Wis.) and two freshmen – MerriAnna Johnson (Osceola, Wis.) and Abbygail Nunez (South St. Paul, Minn.).

"This past season Cam [Kowal] was one of the athletes who realized just how much she was capable of," said Brown, "I am excited to see her step up fully and confidently into the amazing athlete that she is. She will be foundational for the growth needed to move us forward."

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Cross Country, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

St. Cloud State Cross Country Set for NCAA Central Region Championships

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Players Mentioned

Paige Beason

Erica Conrad

Alena Donahue

Greta Freed

MerriAnna Johnson

Cambrie Kowal

Hannah Little

Jaileen Medina

Tegan Michalak

Mady Muehr

Abbygail Nunez

Audrey Rabitz

Saint Cloud State University Athletics