FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SEPT. 13, 2008

FALCON HEIGHTS, MINN. -- The Drake women's cross country team finished fourth in the Oz Memorial hosted by the University of Minnesota Saturday.

Minnesota, the defending Big Ten Conference champion, won its fourth straight team title with 15 points.

North Dakota State finished second in the team standings with 74 points, edging South Dakota State (78) and Drake (82). Minnesota State was fifth with 127.

Drake coach Dan Hostager was pleased with the performance of his team led by senior Nicole Braunsdorf (St. Francis, Wis.) who finished 12th, covering the 6,000-meter course in 23 minutes 17 seconds.

"We were only eights points out of finishing second so it was a tight finish," said Hostager.

The race was contested in damp, misty conditions with temperatures in the low 60s.

"Our top five runners ran quite a bit faster than last year on the same course," Hostager added. "The competitive field on the women's side was outstanding with nationally ranked Minnesota."

Drake sophomore Casey McDermott (Newton, Iowa) was 13th in 23:34. Drake sophomore Meredith Bell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was 18th in 23:59, while sophomore Milly Clark (Jakarta, Indonesia) was 19th in 24:03 and junior Courtney Heinz (St. Paul, Minn.) was 20th in 24:07.

The Oz Memorial is named after Gary Osborn, the longtime Drake women's track and field and cross country coach who died in 2000. Osborn was a longtime friend of Minnesota coach Gary Wilson.

Minnesota junior Megan Duwell captured her first collegiate medalist honor winning the individual title at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in 21:57 seconds, winning the race by 25 seconds.

Drake will compete at the Iowa State Open in Ames, Iowa, next Saturday (Sept. 20).

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
At Falcon Heights, Minn.
Team Scoring
1. Minnesota 15; 2. North Dakota State 74; 3. South Dakota State 78; 4. Drake 82; 5. Minnesota State

1. Minnesota
1 Megan Duwell, Jr 21:57
2 Gabriel Anderson, Sr 22:22
3 Mallory Van Ness, Jr 22:28
4 Jamie Cheever, Jr 22:31
5 Amy Laskowske, Jr 22:32


2. North Dakota State
6 Semehar Tesfaye, Fr 22:40
9 Laura Hermanson, Sr 23:07
10 Nora Narloch, Sr 23:10
24 Amy Jo Reuter, So 24:19
25 Marissa Dahlquist, So 24:27

3. South Dakota State
11 Ashley Storm, Jr 23:14
14 Nicole Davis, Jr 23:46
15 Amanda Frohling, Jr 23:48
16 Claire Steinke, Sr 23:53
22 Jen Lang, So 24:09

4. Drake
12 Nicole Braunsdorf, Sr 23:17
13 Casey McDermott, So 23:34
18 Meredith Bell, So 23:59
19 Milly Clark, So 24:03
20 Courtney Heinz, Jr 24:07

5. Minnesota State
17 Samantha Smith, Sr 23:56
23 Meagan McConnell, Jr 24:18
26 Rachel Smally, Sr 24:30
30 Amanda Detlman, Jr 25:07
31 Lindsay Broughten, Jr 25:12

Overall Individual Leaders
6,000 Meters
T 1 1 Megan Duwell, Jr 21:57 Minnesota
2 2 Gabriel Anderson, Sr 22:22 Minnesota
3 3 Mallory Van Ness, Jr 22:28 Minnesota
4 4 Jamie Cheever, Jr 22:31 Minnesota
5 5 Amy Laskowske, Jr 22:32 Minnesota
6 6 Semehar Tesfaye, Fr 22:40 North Dakota State
7 7 Ariella DePrenger-Gottf, Sr 22:41 Minnesota
8 8 Elizabeth Yetzer, Jr 22:58 Minnesota
9 9 Laura Hermanson, Sr 23:07 North Dakota State
10 10 Nora Narloch, Sr 23:10 North Dakota State
11 11 Ashley Storm, Jr 23:14 South Dakota State Un
12 Sally Paulson, Jr 23:15 Minnesota
13 12 Nicole Braunsdorf, Sr 23:17 Drake
14 Nikki Swenson, So 23:20 Minnesota
15 Kelly Wilson, So 23:21 Minnesota
16 13 Casey McDermott, So 23:34 Drake
17 Stephanie Price, Fr 23:36 Minnesota
18 Meghan Mason, Sr 23:39 Minnesota
19 14 Nicole Davis, Jr 23:46 South Dakota State Un
20 15 Amanda Frohling, Jr 23:48 South Dakota State Un
21 16 Claire Steinke, Sr 23:53 South Dakota State Un
22 Challis Larson, Sr 23:54 Minnesota
23 17 Samantha Smith, Sr 23:56 Msu-Mankata
24 18 Meredith Bell, So 23:59 Drake
25 19 Milly Clark, So 24:03 Drake
26 20 Courtney Heinz, Jr 24:07 Drake
27 21 Mike Bumgarner, So 24:08 Drake
28 22 Jen Lang, So 24:09 South Dakota State Un
29 Katie Dyson, So 24:10 Minnesota
30 Emma Miller, Jr 24:12 Minnesota
31 Jaci Edmonds, So 24:14 Minnesota
32 Julie Schwengler, Sr 24:18 Minnesota
33 23 Meagan McConnell, Jr 24:18 Msu-Mankata
34 24 Amy Jo Reuter, So 24:19 North Dakota State
35 25 Marissa Dahlquist, So 24:27 North Dakota State
36 26 Rachel Smally, Sr 24:30 Msu-Mankata
37 27 Anna Garner, Fr 24:33 South Dakota State Un
38 28 Kelsey Aune, So 24:36 South Dakota State Un
39 Amanda Meagher, Fr 24:37 Minnesota
40 Abbey O'Connell, Jr 24:38 Minnesota
41 Claire Bootsma, Jr 24:44 Minnesota
42 Brittany Swanson, So 24:51 Minnesota
43 Christina Engstrom, Jr 25:01 Minnesota
44 29 Bo Dunn, Fr 25:05 Drake
45 30 Amanda Detlman, Jr 25:07 Msu-Mankata
46 #379 25:09
47 31 Lindsay Broughten, Jr 25:12 Msu-Mankata
48 JoAnna Strom, So 25:20 South Dakota State Un
49 Paige Orcutt, Fr 25:24 Minnesota
50 Lindsay Smith, So 25:28 Drake
51 32 Jordan Krahn, Fr 25:39 North Dakota State
52 Kristen Looney, Sr 25:41 Drake
53 Jamie Dittmar, Fr 25:43 Minnesota
54 Sarah Hanson, Sr 25:53 South Dakota State Un
55 Hannah Stordahl, Fr 25:54 South Dakota State Un
56 Maggie Bobbin, Jr 25:58 Minnesota
57 Emily Smith, So 26:00 South Dakota State Un
58 Danielle LeBreck, Fr 26:06 Minnesota
59 Jessica Ludvik, Fr 26:07 South Dakota State Un
60 33 Brittany Gigstead, So 26:16 North Dakota State
61 Jenna Lewein, So 26:20 Minnesota
62 Emily Fowler, Fr 26:32 Minnesota
63 Kayla Dahl, Fr 26:36 Minnesota
64 Becca Tollefson, Jr 26:42 Minnesota
65 Laura Zoulek, Sr 26:44 Drake
66 Celia Hemmerich, Jr 27:01 Minnesota
67 Taylor Light, Fr 27:10 Minnesota
68 Caitlyn Crowley, Fr 27:13 South Dakota State Un
69 Kayla Zander, Jr 27:17 Minnesota
70 Chelsey Dunkle, Fr 27:20 Minnesota
71 34 Andrea Brelje, So 27:27 Msu-Mankata
72 Kathryn Salvatore, So 27:30 Minnesota
73 Emily Black, Fr 27:35 North Dakota State
74 Amy Bestland, Jr 27:39 North Dakota State
75 Sarah Havelka, Jr 28:01 Drake
76 Emily Zipoy, Fr 28:10 Drake
77 35 Jennifer Duley, Fr 28:40 Msu-Mankata
78 Rebecca Niewohner, Fr 32:08 South Dakota State Un