SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams, which both return experience and features talented newcomers, is gearing up for the fall season with high expectations. 

After two years away from cross country competition due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, USF is back and ready to compete.  USF will open the 2021 season at the Augustana Twilight at Yankton Trails Park on Friday, Sept. 3.  In total, the Cougars will compete in four regular season competitions leading up to the NSIC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 23 at Wayne, Nebraska, hosted by Wayne State College. The NCAA Central Regional will be held on Saturday, November 6 in Joplin, Missouri while the NCAA National Championships will take place on November 20 at The Abbey Course in St. Leo, Florida. 

Augustana Twilight Opens Season -- 

At the Augustana Twilight, the USF Women's Team will begin race in a 5,000-meter event at 8:30 pm following several high school races. The USF Men's Team will compete in a four-mile competition at 9 p.m. One of the largest opening competitions for cross country in the region, the Augustana Twilight will be held under lights at Yankton Trail Park. Annually, more than 5,000 participants, coaches and fans converge for the races under the lights with teams from the NCAA Division I ranks to high school junior varsity races. The 2019 version saw a record number of teams compete at the event.
Unofficial results will be posted at http://results.dakotatiming.com. Official results will be produced and available on site. 

Women's Preview -- Preseason Session Prepares Squad
In 2021, the Cougars, which were picked ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, will try and match or better its program-best mark of fourth place in the team standings at the 2018 NSIC Championships.   
 
"After missing last fall's cross country season, this year will be a special year," said USF Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Doug Petersen. "We look forward to running a schedule and racing again. We are excited to face the running challenges as we try to move up the NSIC standings. We have some veterans returning and a group of talented freshmen, sophomores and newcomers," he said.
 
Sophomore Khot Juac (Sioux Falls, S.D.), who was named the Athlete to Watch in the NSIC announcement, is poised to make an impression after an outstanding spring track season with USF's fourth best 5K all-time (18:02.46) and the third-best 1500 meters (4:40.62).

Junior Tianna Voigt is looking forward to seeing what her team can do in competition after a successful fall camp. "Fall practice has been really good so far. We've gotten in a lot of miles together as a team and we've gotten to know each other pretty well," said Voigt, who recorded her collegiate PR with a time of 20:08.8 at the 5K race at the Augustana Twilight XC Meet in 2019. "This is actually the biggest team we've had in my time here at USF, so it's exciting to have a lot of new teammates and I can't wait to see where we go from here."

Annika Aho, a sophomore out of Minnesota, is another seasoned member of the squad with high hopes for the coming season. "Things are going really well so far. It's so nice to be back together and have a preseason again this year," said Aho, an Academic All-NSIC Member. 
 
USF is a team that will also look to its youth to step up with such athletes as Karlee Simmons (R-So., Keystone, S.D.), Annika Aho (So., Menagha, Minn.), Tianna Voigt (R.Jr., Pelican Rapids, Minn.), Cassidy O'Meara (Jr., Moorhead, Minn.) and freshman Morgan Gehl (Fr., Fulda, Minn.), Jessica Lutmer (Fr., Pierre, S.D.) and Ella Kolb (Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D.).  

Men's Preview -- Veterans lead a unit that has logged heavy mileage in prep for season

As the USF Cross Country Men's Team looks to the 2021 season, Petersen has a squad that includes experience and youthful talent which provide the making for a team focused on continuing a tradition of success. In its eight-year history in DII, six times USF has finished in the top three at the league championships and three times finished in the top two with an NSIC title in 2018. In addition, USF has had three NSIC individual champions and seven student-athletes who have been All-Americans in cross country. 

"We are excited to return to action this fall after having the 2020 season canceled," said Petersen. "We have a good mix of veteran runners along with a talented group of newcomers. The guys are hungry to compete and we can't wait to get started," he said.

In the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the USF Men's Team was projected sixth with 105 ballot points, according to the preseason coaches' poll. The men's team will also open the 2021 season at Augustana Twilight at Yankton Trails Park on Friday, Sept. 3.  The Cougars compete in four regular season competition leading up to the NSIC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, October 23 at Wayne, Nebraska, hosted by Wayne State College. The NCAA Central Regional will be held on Saturday, November 6 in Joplin, Missouri while the NCAA National Championships will take place on November 20 at The Abbey Course in St. Leo, Florida. 

After missing 2020 due to CoVID-19 pandemic, the Cougars will try and match its finish or better of 2019 when they were third. Athlete to Watch David Ecker (Junior, Eau Claire, Wisc.) will provide leadership. A CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American, Ecker was part of the USF's 2018 NSIC Cross Country championship team that finished fifth at the NCAA DII meet. Ecker, who will serve as president of USF's SAAC, had a standout spring including setting USF's 3,000 steeplechase record and an NCAA DII provisional mark. In addition, he had personal-bests in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters which rank top-10 all-time at USF.  

"Our expectation is to surpass our preseason ranking. We've set a goal of finishing in a top three spot at the end of the season, and hopefully qualifying for nationals," said the distance standout. "Our team has made six of the last eight DII National Championships and we're looking to continue that tradition of success."

Transfer Jakob Hanna (Sioux Falls, S.D., NDSU transfer), will add DI experience and success. Twice he finished in the top-28 at the Summit League Cross Country Championships. Also for USF, senior Aaron Voight (Gregory, S.D.), and senior Seth Overholt (Madison, S.D.) will also provide a veteran presence on a team that is talented with depth from Micade Shumway (So., Williston, N.D.), Ben Morrison (So., Bozeman, Mont.), Christian Lietz (So., Worthington, Minn.)  along with freshmen Miles Olofson(Elk River, Minn), Caleb River (St. James, Minn.) and Kade Bullion (Brighton, Colo.).   

After a long year with no competition, Petersen and his runners are ready to get back out on the field and lead the pack. "We have a rich tradition of success here at USF in this program. Our runners on the team want to continue that and we are working hard to see our goals achieved."