On Nov. 5, Wayne State College hosted the 2022 cross-country Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference championships. On the men’s side, Augustana took their 12th NSIC title win with 18 points followed by Minnesota State and University of Sioux Falls.  

The WSC Wildcats came in ninth place in the conference championships. Leading the Wildcats was junior Brandon Mundorf crossing the finish line with a time of 25:44.94. Mundorf received 18th place and earned a spot on the All-NSIC Second Team, becoming the first All-Conference cross country runner since 2010. 

Out of the nine Wildcat athletes, the top seven are scored for team points. The top seven runners averaged 27:04 8k with a 5:26/Mile average. Earning ninth place at the conference championship puts them two places higher than polled at the beginning of preseason (11). 

Another award handed out at the cross-country championships was the Elite 18 award. The award is given to an athlete at each of the NSIC’s 18 championships. The Elite 18 award recognizes the athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. Gabe Pietz, a junior on the cross-country and track team received the award. Pietz maintains a 4.0 GPA majoring in Pre-med/Chemistry. 

The cross country team rounds out their season at the Central Region Championships, held in Joplin, Missouri on Nov. 19.