The USF men's and women's teams competed in the 2013 NSIC Championships on Saturday and came away with a 2nd place men's team finish and a 7th place women's team finish. 

In the men's race, USF had three runners earn NSIC All-Conference First-Team honors with their top ten finishes. Sioux Falls native Matthew Horan led the Cougar men with his third place finish (25:25.77). He was followed by teammates Billy Brockmueller (25:39.70) and Bobby Brockmueller (25:44.56) who finished in 7th and 9th place respectively. Ethan Tabbert also earned NSIC Second Team honors by running a 26:13.29 on his way to a 20th place finish. Rounding out the scoring runners for the Cougars was freshman Cody Herman who finished in 51st place with his time of 27:11.87. 

"Our men had a great day today," said head coach Grant Watley. "For us to be able to get three runners in the top ten is a testament to the hard work these athletes have put in since last season."

The USF men recorded a team score of 84 which gave them runner-up honors. Augustana College scored 18 points on their way to a NSIC Championship title. The University of Mary (124) and Minnesota Duluth (126) placed third and fourth respectively. 

For the women, the Cougars were led by senior Sierra Harder who finished 6th overall with her 6k time of 21:37.98. Carrie King (34th) was the second Cougar finisher with her time of 22:56.46. Jordin Kopplow (23:06.73) and Becca Steadman (23:14.39) were the number three and four runners for USF finishing in 40th and 43rd place respectively. The final scoring runner for USF was Rachel Huffman who ran a 24:04.00 on her way to a 69th place finish. 

"Our women came out and had a gutsy performance today," said Watley. "I'm really proud of the effort these women put into today's race."

The Cougar women finished 7th overall with a team score of 184. Minnesota-Duluth claimed the team title scoring 50 points and were followed by Augustana who scored 67 points. 

The Cougars will compete next on November 9 at the NCAA Central Regional Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D. at Yankton Trail Park.