WAYNE STATE RANKS 11TH IN NSIC PRESEASON MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY COACHES POLL
Wayne, Nebraska – Wayne State College finished 11th in the NSIC 2024 Preseason Coaches Poll in men’s cross country released Thursday morning by the league office in Burnsville, Minnesota. Junior Quentin Dreyer was listed as Wayne State’s “Athlete to Watch” in the NSIC this season.
Wayne State received 34 points in the league coaches’ vote after finishing 11th at last year’s NSIC championships.
Four-time NSIC champion Augustana was selected this season as the winner of the 2024 NSIC title, receiving 143 points and 11 first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). MSU Moorhead finished second with 128 points and one first-place vote, while Minnesota Duluth finished third with 116 points and also one first-place vote. Minnesota State (108) and Sioux Falls (106) round out the conference’s top five teams.
Dreyer, a junior from Manning, Iowa, was the No. 2 runner for the Wildcats in all six meets last season. Dreyer ran his season-best time (25:57.7) at the conference championships last year and earned a best finish of fourth at the Wildcat Classic.
Wayne State will begin its 2024 season at the Augustana Twilight Invite on September 6 in Sioux Falls, SD
NSIC Coaches Survey for the 2024 Men’s Cross Country Preseason
- Augustana (11) 143 points.
- MSU Moorhead (1) 128 points.
- Minnesota Duluth (1) 116 points.
- Minnesota State 108 points.
- Sioux Falls 106 points.
- University of Mary, 86 points.
- Northern State 82 points.
- Concordia-St. Paul 74 points.
- Minot State 51 points.
- Winona State 49 points.
- Wayne State 34 points.
- Minnesota Crookston 23 points.
- Southwest Minnesota State 14 points.
WILDCATS RANKED NINTH IN NSIC WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
WAYNE, NEB. — The Wayne State College women’s cross country team finished ninth in the 2024 NSIC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced Thursday morning by the league office in Burnsville, Minn. The Wildcats earned 89 points in the league coaches’ vote and sophomore Callie Kirchner was listed as this season’s Wayne State “Athlete to Watch.”
Five of the top six runners on last year’s Wayne State team, which finished ninth at the NSIC Cross Country Championships, went to the university.
Augustana was unanimously voted the team to beat at the NSIC this year, receiving 196 points and 14 first-place votes. The University of Mary finished second with the remaining first-place votes (coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team) and 179 points. Reigning NSIC champion Winona State finished third with 157 points, just ahead of Minnesota State (155) and Sioux Falls (151).
Minnesota Duluth finished sixth with 140 points, followed by Minot State and Northern State, who tied for seventh with 106 points. Wayne State finished ninth with 89 points and Bemidji State was 10th with 80 points. MSU Moorhead (75), Southwest Minnesota State (43), Minnesota Crookston (39), St. Cloud State (32) and Concordia-St. Paul (27) finished atop the preseason coaches poll.
Wayne State’s athlete to watch this season is Callie Kirchner, a sophomore at Millard West High School. She is the Wildcats’ top returner this season and was Wayne State’s 4th runner in three of six meets last season. Kirchner had her best season finish of 10th at the Wildcat Classic last season and was Wayne State’s 4th runner at the NCAA Central Regional in Joplin, Missouri to end the season.
Wayne State is scheduled to open the 2024 season on Friday, Sept. 6, at the Augustana Twilight Invitational in Sioux Falls.
2024 NSIC Preseason Women’s Cross Country Coaches Survey
- Augustana (14) 196 points.
- University of Mary (1) 179 points.
- Winona State 157 points.
- Minnesota State 155 points.
- Sioux Falls 151 points.
- Minnesota Duluth 140 points.
- Minot State 106 points.
- Northern State 106 points.
- Wayne State 89 points.
- Bemidji State 80 points.
- MSU Moorhead 75 points.
- Southwest Minnesota St. 43 points.
- Minnesota Crookston 39 points.
- St. Cloud State 32 points.
- Concordia-St. Paul 27 points.
