ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The 2010 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Women's Cross Country Awards were announced Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010, and St. Olaf College dominated the league awards the same way they distanced themselves from the field to earn this year's conference championship.
Oles' junior Maren Westby (Salem, Ore./West Salem) was named the 2010 MIAC Women's Cross Country Most Valuable Athlete on the strength of her first-place finish at the conference meet, and her role in St. Olaf's MIAC championship. Westby's head coach, Chris Daymont, received 2010 MIAC Women's Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year honors as a result of the Oles' fantastic performance to claim the conference title.
Westby won the MIAC title and Most Valuable Athlete award thanks to a great overall race and an oustanding final burst. She overtook teammate Emma Lee in the final stretch to finish first over her teammate by exactly one second. Westby finished sixth last year to also earn All-MIAC honors, and
Daymont's 30th season coaching the Oles couldn't have gone much better with ninth conference title and third MIAC Coach-of-the-Year honor. This season, her team will also seek a trip to nationals, where she has previously guided 15 Oles teams. Daymont has coached more than 30 different athletes to 78 All-American honors in her career.
The top 15 finishers at the MIAC Championships, which were held Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010, at Como Park Golf Course, were named to the MIAC All-Conference team. The next 10 finishers (places 16-25) all received Honorable Mention honors. The conference-champion Oles placed three runners on the MIAC All-Conference squad, and had another trhee runners earn Honorable Mention.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the fifth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for Women's Cross Country. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.
2010 MIAC Women's Cross Country Most Valuable Athlete - Maren Westby, St. Olaf (Jr., Salem, Ore./West Salem)
2010 MIAC Women's Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year - Chris Daymont, St. Olaf
2010 MIAC All-Conference
| Place |
Time |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| 1 |
22:00 |
Maren Westby |
St. Olaf |
Jr. |
Salem, Ore./West Salem |
| 2 |
22:01 |
Emma Lee |
St. Olaf |
So. |
St. Paul,Minn./Como Park |
| 3 |
22:24 |
Simone Childs-Walker |
Carleton |
Jr. |
Seattle, Wash./Lakeside |
| 4 |
22:38 |
Taylor Berg |
St. Thomas |
So. |
Eagan, Minn./Eagan |
| 5 |
22:44 |
Jessica Kociscak |
Hamline |
So. |
Ramsey, Minn/Anoka |
| 6 |
22:47 |
Allie Metzler |
St. Thomas |
Sr. |
Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame H.S. |
| 7 |
22:56 |
Kate Eggers |
Gustavus |
So. |
Montevideo, Minn/Montevideo |
| 8 |
23:01 |
Alison Smyth |
Carleton |
Jr. |
Billings, Mont./Billings West |
| 9 |
23:09 |
Kayla Jelen |
Bethel |
Sr. |
Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln |
| 10 |
23:10 |
Erin Statz |
St. Thomas |
Fr. |
Lincoln, Neb./Pius X |
| 11 |
23:10 |
Kim Rostvold |
Gustavus |
Jr. |
Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids |
| 12 |
23:13 |
Alex Potter |
Bethel |
Sr. |
Windom, Minn./Windom |
| 13 |
23:15 |
Elizabeth Hauer |
Gustavus |
So. |
Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls |
| 14 |
23:19 |
Cara Donohue |
Bethel |
Fr. |
Bloomington, Minn. |
| 15 |
23:22 |
Sophie Pietrick |
St. Olaf |
So. |
Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka |
2010 MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Place |
Time |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| 16 |
23:24 |
Hannah Dennis |
St. Olaf |
Jr. |
Grand Forks, N.D./Red River |
| 17 |
23:33 |
Kristin Mork |
Bethel |
Sr. |
Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti |
| 18 |
23:36 |
Kaycee Knutson |
Saint Benedict |
Jr. |
.Esko, Minn./Esko |
| 19 |
23:38 |
Rachel Dean |
St. Olaf |
So. |
Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre |
| 20 |
23:43 |
Sara Holland |
Hamline |
Jr. |
Dousman, Wis./Kettle-Morain |
| 21 |
23:44 |
Taylor Ffitch |
Carleton |
Jr. |
Portland, Ore./St. Mary's Academy |
| 22 |
23:51 |
Christine Muller |
St. Olaf |
Jr. |
Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View |
| 23 |
23:51 |
Megan Smith |
Saint Benedict |
So. |
Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North |
| 24 |
23:52 |
Katie Schwarz |
Saint Benedict |
Sr. |
Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi |
| 25 |
23:54 |
Tara McCoy |
Macalester |
Sr. |
Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie |
2010 All-MIAC Women's Cross Country Sportsmanship Team
Augsburg - Kacie Bahr (Jr., Brainerd, Minn./Brainerd)
Bethel - Michelle Benson (Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City Christian)
Carleton - Alison Smyth (Jr., Billings, Mont./Billings West)
Concordia - Kate Hendrickson (Sr., Baxter, Minn./Brainerd)
Gustavus - Kim Rostvold (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids)
Hamline - Sara Holland (Dousman, Wis./Kettle-Morain)
Macalester - Libby Tollefson (Sr., Billings, Mont./Billings)
Saint Benedict - Ashley Irons (Sr., Twin Falls, Idaho/Twin Falls)
St. Catherine - Emily Eastman (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata)
Saint Mary's - Regina Quandt (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace)
St. Olaf - Rebecca Spurr (Sr., West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley)
St. Thomas - Julia Brandes (Sr., Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka)