October 7, 2005

JAMESTOWN, N.D. - Junior Nicole Friend (International Falls, Minn.) finished in 10th place for Bemidji State as the team competed in the Jamestown College Cross Country Invitational at the Hilcreat Golf Course on Saturday.

Friend finshed the race in 20:28.00 just edging out senior Christa Pribula (East Grand Forks, Minn.) by eight seconds.

As a team, Bemidji State finished in fourth place with 103 points. BSU finished behind Jamestown College (31), Concordia College (53) and Minnesota State Moorhead (60). Among Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) schools, BSU had the second best finish, beating Northern State University by 11 points.

"Our girls improved their times on the year, some of them by over a minute" said Head Coach Craig Hougen. "It was windy and cold but our girls forgot about that and went out there and were competitive."

BSU will take next weekend off in order to gear up for the NSIC Championships on Oct. 22.

"Heading into the conference championships I think we're sitting second best with the possibility of being better than that," said Hougen. "The next week we're going to make sure everyone stays healthy and work on improving all of the little things."

The BSU women's cross country team is slated to begin action at 12 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.

--bsu--

Top 10 Finishers: 1. Natalie Hanson, 18:57 (Concordia College); 2. Michel Maurer, 19:32 (Jamestown College); 3. Erin Ellmaker, 19:37 (Jamestown College); 4. Kristin Dolence, 19:40 (Minnesota State-Moorhead); 5. Tara Opdahl, 20:00 (Jamestown College); 6. Alissa Bilden, 20:02 (Concordia College); 7. Kelsey Moore, 20:15 (Jamestown College); 8. Sara Rebenitsch, 20:19 (Minnesota State-Moorhead) 9. Laurelle Irvine, 20:23 (Minot State); 10. Nicole Friend, 20:28 (Bemidji State). Other BSU participants: 13. Christa Pribula (20:36), 32. Nancy McConkey (21:38), 33. Nargaret Osgood (21:39), 43. Rebecca Hougen (22:14), 45. Brittney Olson (22:18), 46. Ali Judkins (22:22), 48. Jillian Schuster (22:30), 51. Adonia McCormick (22:38), 58. Allison Osgood (23:37), 65. Erin Hansen (27:38)