Women's Cross Country | 9/2/2026 1:46:00 PM

Crookston, Minn. - The new cross country season is officially upon us as the Golden Eagles will head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Augustana Twilight. The women's meet will start at 8:45 p.m. this Friday, September 4th. The Golden Eagles are looking to start off the season in a big way, just like they did a year ago. 

Last year, the Golden Eagles had their best finish at the Augustana Twilight in program history, finishing fourth out of the 26 competing teams. Three of the Golden Eagles' runners surpassed the previous program high 5k time at the Augustana Twilight, with two of the runners returning. Those two are Morgan Shaw (Sr., Redmond, Ore.), who was tabbed as the Golden Eagles' athlete to watch for Women's Cross Country and finished with a time of 18:08, and Natalie Wood (R-Jr., Big Timber, Mont.), who is entering her second season as a Golden Eagle and finished with a time of 18:37. Three Golden Eagle returners set personal 5k records at the Augustana Twilight last year: Caroline Kuehne (Jr., Long Prairie, Minn.) with a time of 19:10, Grace Alwardt (Sr., Lake Elsinore, Calif.) with a time of 19:33, and Rivyn DiPadova (So., Soldiers Grove, Wis.) finishing at 20:05.

The Golden Eagles also set a program record last year by beating seven NSIC teams at the Augustana Twilight, the most they have even beaten. The Golden Eagles are coming into this season after a 2025 season that goes down as the best season in program history. Head Coach Steve Krouse and new Assistant Coach Jakob Hanna will now look to lead the team to an even better season in 2026.