UMAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. 53 Points - University of Minnesota, Morris (4 First Place Votes)
2. 50 Points - College of St. Scholastica (3)
3. 42 Points - Martin Luther College (1)
4. 39 Points - Northwestern College
T-5. 29 Points - Bethany Lutheran College
T-5. 29 Points - North Central University
7. 19 Points - Northland College
8. 18 Points - Crown College
9. 9 Points - Presentation College
ST. PAUL -- The University of Minnesota, Morris will be looking for its first Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Men's Cross Country Championship in 2010. If the preseason coaches' poll has anything to say about it, the Cougars chances for accomplishing such a goal this year are high as Morris was predicted to win the conference, earning 53 points and four first place votes in the poll. The Cougars bested the College of St. Scholastica, last year's conference champion, by three points in the poll.
Minnesota, Morris welcomes back its top five runners in 2010 as the Cougars look to build on a third place finish at last year's UMAC Championship. Leading the team's charge will be three-time all-conference performer Luke Toso and two-time all-UMAC runner Andrew Rehmann. Rehmenn and Toso finished 11th and 12th respectively at the 2009 conference championship meet to lead the Cougars to their third place finish. Also returning are top-five runners Ian Philbrick, Matt Ellison and Greg Schumacher. Ellison and Philbrick were each among the top-15 as well last season at the conference championships. Schumacher placed 26th to round out the Cougar scoring.
St. Scholastica, who earned 50 points and three first place votes, returns UMAC All-Conference runners #Nick Mangan#, #Pat Bigaouette#, and #Tony Bye#. Mangan led the team in six races last season and had four top-eight finishes while Bigaouette finished sixth at last year's championship race. Bye ran a personal-best time of 26:45 at last year's UW-Oshkosh Invitational before placing ninth at the UMAC finale.
Martin Luther College, the recipient of 42 points and a first place vote, placed third in the poll. Martin Luther finished second in the conference in 2009 and hopes that a solid group of returning athletes can get the Knights back to the top of the league in 2010. Senior Nathan Loersch leads Martin Luther's group of returners, having finished second at the conference meet in 2009 after winning it in 2008. Also returning will be junior Steve Pelischek and Nathan Schulte.
Fourth place Northwestern College will try to keep up the pace of competing for the UMAC title in 2010. Losing names like Kenny Auger and Levi Budd won't help, but the Eagles return a core group of runners for the upcoming season. Derek Schlaler earned UMAC All-Conference honors last year, taking eighth place in the conference meet. Jacob Gifford and Aaron Oie are two more strong runners for NWC, both having earned a top 20 finish in last year's UMAC Championship. David Ingold, Mitchell Neuberger and Loren Johnson are all incoming freshmen who will bolster Northwestern's lineup.
Bethany Lutheran College and North Central University tied for fifth place with each school earning 29 points in the poll. Bethany Lutheran's top two runners from a year ago will return for the 2010 season. Matthew Behmer and David Blumer earned all-conference honors last season after finishing fifth and seventh at the UMAC Championship. Like the Vikings women, the men saw consistent improvement in the team's inaugural season last year. The Vikings will lose Jason Sehloff, who was a consistent force. Bethany Lutheran's incoming freshman, Zachary Fick, Noah Willitz, and Luke Meilner, all have the ability to keep up with the Vikings top returners to make for an exciting and competitive season.
North Central returns six of its top seven men from last year's fourth place UMAC team. Junior David Calhoun leads the returners for the Rams with a 27:27 8K personal best. Junior Jeff Winkelman returns after a terrific 2010 track season which saw him run 2:02, 4:22, and 16:40 for 800, 1500, and 5K, respectively. Junior Owen Hein returns with a 28:58 8K personal best along with a pair of fellow juniors in Jay Beichley and Tony Johns. Sophomore Austin Muchow rounds out the top six returners for NCU. The Rams do lose 2009 UMAC Champion Daniel Bare, but should be well stocked to make a run at improving their 2009 fourth place UMAC finish.
Seventh place Northland College will look to continue to improve after its 2009 campaign. The LumberJacks were able to improve all of their times as the season moved along and finished sixth at the UMAC championship meet, which Northland will host in 2010. Top returners for the Jacks will be Joe Zant and Kelsey Barra. Zant was the top finisher for Northland last season. The LumberJacks also welcome new comer Tommy Cogger to their roster.
Crown College took eighth place in the poll with 18 points. 2010 will be a year of rebuilding for the Storm, as the only two returning runners from last season are sophomores Vince Elmhorst and Simon Kulzer. New runners on this year's squad will include Aaron Howard, Josiah Moldenhauer, and Clint Senn. Head coach Rick Peterson will look for his new runners to adjust to competing at the college level, hoping that as they gain experience, the team will improve quickly.
Presentation College rounded out the preseason poll, earning nine points. The Saints are looking to improve on their second year under head coach Matt Walberg for the fall of 2010. Presentation lost Halden VanWyhe, who holds the school cross country record, as well as Blake Spindler from last season's team. Returners for the Saints are Cody Wesch and Nathan Barrett, who rounded out the top five runners for Presentation at the UMAC Championship last year. Incoming runners for the Saints this year will be Ben Schied and Marcell Reynolds.
After each team competes at numerous meets throughout the fall season, all nine schools will gather together in Ashland, Wis. for the UMAC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30.
