WINTHROP, Minn. – The University of Northwestern Men's Cross Country team participated in the UMAC Championship Saturday at Winthrop Golf Course. Despite frigid conditions, the Eagles turned in a strong showing with a third-place finish as a team. Thanks to a handful of career-best performances, their scoring team average of 28:45 was good enough to qualify them as a team for the NCCAA National Championships that will take place next month. Full results can be viewed here.
 
Jacob Weddle (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) stepped up with the bright lights on, shattering his personal best in the 8k race by a staggering 66 seconds. His time of 27:41.50 earned him a 13^th place finish. Joshua Ringsmuth (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) was next up, finishing 17^th in a time of 28:38.80. The freshman bested his top career mark for the third meet in a row.
 
Nathan Eikom (Eagan, Minn./Homeschool) came up clutch for UNW as well. The junior turned in a 22^nd place effort, finishing in a time of 28:55.40. That time destroyed his previous PR of 30:13. Bennett Selfridge (Rapid City, S.D./Rapid City Christian) also hit a career mark of 29:13.20, beating his previous best by 50 seconds and finishing 24^th. The final runner that contributed to the team score was junior Nathaniel Moser (West Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian), who took 25^th in a time of 29:20.20. Moser reached a new career best as well, by 23 seconds.
 
Although they just missed qualifying for the team score, several more Eagles turned in strong performances in the field of 64. Owen Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) bested his career low by a full minute, finishing in 29:56.30 en route to a 29^th place finish. Tyler Monsen (Chaska, Minn/Southwest Christian) finished 32^nd in a time of 30:11.40. The senior's previous best was 30:22.20. Peter Kephart (Lake Nebagamon, Minn./Northwestern) was next to cross the finish line for Northwestern, doing so in 31:07.00 and finishing 40th. This was a PR by 14 seconds for the freshman. Jacob Kephart (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) was not far behind his brother, finishing in a time of 31:22.20, good for 42^nd place.
 
Northwestern will now turn its attention to preparing for the NCCAA National Championships, which will take place take place November 10^th in Warsaw, Indiana. The entire Men's team will be participating since it qualified via average team time. Stay tuned to unweagles.com for more coverage.