UND sacrifices results at home cross country meet to aim at longterm goal
Sep. 2—GRAND FORKS — Before the UND cross country teams ran in their annual home meet, the Ron Pynn Classic, the Fighting Hawks held a workout.
The women's team ran three kilometers. The men's team ran four.
UND coach Tom Scott wasn't interested in where his teams placed. In fact, his teams ran tempo paces during the actual event, which also featured North Dakota State, Trinity Bible College of Ellendale, N.D., and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College of New Town, N.D.
"One thing we've been really focusing on this year is longterm, big picture," Scott said. "We're trying to get a little workout in and memorize the course, because this is where we'll be for the conference championship on Oct. 29.
"I think we executed perfectly. We came through the mile right on pace for what we were trying to do. I was pretty happy with how we looked and how we felt."
With UND's approach to the meet, NDSU dominated it.
NDSU's Allie Wahlund of Minot won the women's meet in 17:19.5, followed by teammates Kaleesa Houston (17:19.8) and Grace Link (17:39.0).
Sophomore Jaydn Keeler of Barrie, Ont., (17:48.9) and Conny Wohlfahrt of Kostenberg, Austria, (17:59.0) were UND's top two finishers.
"I'm really excited with Jaydn and Conny," Scott said. "They both had great summers. Jaydn is coming off of being the freshman track athlete of the year last year. Conny has had a stellar summer. She's a 4:50-miler. The way they closed today, those are going to be two ladies to look out for come Oct. 29."
NDSU finished 1-2-3 on the men's side and had eight of the top nine finishers. Symon Keiser of Jordan, Minn., won the men's race in 17:56.4, followed by Moorhead's Zach Johnson (17:58.6) and Grand Forks Red River graduate Jake Arason (17:59.1).
UND's top finishers were Patrick Kipkemboi (18:03.5) and Luke Labatte (18:43.4).
"Luke barely missed qualifying to the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase (last season)," Scott said. "He's going to be one to look out for. He had a great summer and now he's a senior, so he's a veteran. He knows what he's doing."
UND will compete at the Dragon Twilight in Moorhead on Sept. 9, at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis on Sept. 23 and at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill., on Oct. 14 before hosting the Summit League Championships.
"We're excited to do something big and try to do something we've never done before," Scott said. "The goal is top three on each side, which I don't think that's ever happened outside of the COVID year. That's what we're trying to do — do something this program hasn't done in a long time."
