V-Hawks take Third at NSAA Championship, Hirsch Qualifies for Nationals
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University Women's Cross Country team hosted the 2023 North Star Athletic Association Cross Country Championships of Friday morning. The V-Hawks finished third out of six teams with 68 points.
Dickinsons State University (ND) won the NSAA crown with 45 points, and Valerija Curikova of Dakota State (SD) was the individual champion with a time of 22:30.6.
Anya Hirsch was the top performer for the V-Hawks, finishing third place with a time of 23:32.4. Finishing top-10 earned her All-Conference, while being a top-four finisher not on the championship team qualified her to run as an individual at the NAIA National Championship meet in Vancouver, Wash. on November 17.
Tori Gerber also earned All-Conference honors, finishing eighth with a time of 24:29.6.
Vanessa Thomas and Hannah Butler paced each other through the race, finishing 15th and 16th (25:34.8, 25:39.8), respectively. Jerica Mueller was the final scorer for Viterbo, taking 26th with a mark of 27:28.6.
Kayla DeWitt and Bernadette Frisch were also finishers for Viterbo, recording times of 27:57.9 and 28:00.4 for 30th and 31st place.