Cross Country
Four Runners Compete at North Dakota Invite;
Pribula Leads The Beavers With 11th-Place Finish

Sept. 22, 2003

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- At the University of North Dakota Ron Pynn Invitational on Saturday, Bemidji State sophomore Christa Pribula ran the course in 20:48.5 to take first on the squad and 11th overall. This was Pribula’s best finish of the 2003 season. She was one of four BSU runners to complete the race individually.

North Dakota State led the 11-team field with 40 points, edging out North Dakota by three points. NDSU’s Melinda Zirbel was the individual champion with a mark of 19:34.3.

The three other Bemidji State runners to race were sophomore Jaclyn Thomforde (22:24.1) in 63rd, juniors Janel Budenski (24:22.9) in 104th and Katie Dippel (24:39.9) in 110th.

Looking next for BSU, it will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for the Roy Griak Invite on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Head Coach Craig Hougen
In his 15th-year as head coach of the cross country/track and field squads at Bemidji State University is Craig Hougen.

Hougen, the 1999 Outdoor Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Outdoor and 1998 NSIC Indoor Track Coach of the Year, has molded the BSU track and field teams into annual league contenders for the team title while producing several NCAA qualifiers and All-America selections.

A track state champion and notable track athlete at Bismarck High School (N.D.), Hougen earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Valley City State University (N.D.) in 1977. He followed with a master’s degree in that same field from BSU in 1979 while serving as a graduate assistant for two years.

Hougen entered the coaching ranks as the head track and field coach at Sheridan High School in Wyoming in 1979 and accepted additional duties as assistant coach with the football and basketball programs during his 10-year stay with Sheridan athletics.

Team Results @ North Dakota Invitational - Sat., Sept. 19
1. North Dakota State - 40
2. North Dakota - 43
3. Minot State - 98
4. Concordia (MN) - 127
5. Mary (N.D.) - 152
6. Minnesota-Duluth - 156
7. Jamestown - 186
8. Manitoba - 204
9. MSU-Moorhead - 221
10. St. Cloud State - 267
11. Bemidji State - individuals
 
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