Vermillion, S.D. - The South Dakota cross country teams will put the final touches on their 2010 season when the Coyotes host North Dakota for a dual on Saturday at the Don Baker Cross Country Course. The women's 5k begins at 3 p.m. and the men's 8k commences at 3:25 p.m.

Scouting North Dakota The Fighting Sioux and Coyotes have battled on several cross country courses this fall, including at the Roy Griak Invitational and Chili Pepper Festival. Their most recent run-in came at the Great West Conference Championships on Oct. 30 in Edinburg, Texas. The UND women edged USD by 15 points to claim third place thanks to two Fighting Sioux runners in front of the first Coyote. Junior Lindsay Anderson won the race and fellow junior Emily Emerson earned first-team All-GWC honors with a fifth-place finish. The USD men returned the favor by placing two runners in front of UND's first to beat the Fighting Sioux by 54 points and two places. Junior Adam Stainiger was their top finisher at 19th, while junior Tyler Rose was the second UND runner across the line in 32nd.

Last Time Out: Coyotes Claim Fourth GWC at Championships; Mettler Earns Freshman of Year Jeff Mettler earned Great West Conference Freshman of the Year and two other Coyote runners claimed All-GWC honors to help the University of South Dakota cross country teams finish fourth at the GWC championships on Oct. 30 at Los Lagos Golf Course. Utah Valley won the women's title with 39 points, Texas-Pan American was second (72) and North Dakota (74) was third. The Wolverines also claimed the men's title with 34 points, Seattle was runnerup (56) and UTPA was third (87).

Sophomore Ethan Marquardt (Albert Lea, Minn.) was USD's top male finisher to pace the team to a fourth-place finish with 106 points. He traversed the 8k course in 24:47 for 12th place to earn his second-straight second-team All-GWC honor. Mettler (Eureka, S.D.) crossed the line just one second behind in 13th to finish as the top freshman in the field. The place earned him second-team All-GWC accolades to go with freshman of the year. Freshman Travis Brenner (Yankton, S.D.) and senior Andrew Duba (Sioux Falls, S.D.) worked together to finish 25th and 26th, respectively, in 25:10 and 25:11. Sophomore Mark Hayden (St. Louis, Mo.) was the last Coyote scorer in 25:33 for 30th, while freshman Mitch Yaggie (Mission Hill, S.D.) and junior Mike Schrum (Harrisburg, S.D.) rounded out USD's top seven in 33rd (25:40) and 37th (25:58), respectively.

The Coyote women notched 89 points for a fourth-place finish as well, thanks to second-team All-GWC honors from Carol Miller (Mead, Neb.). The sophomore finished ninth in 17:23 and was followed by freshman Megan Hilson (Yankton, S.D.) in 17:52 for 17th place. Senior Sarah Wickman (Iowa City, Iowa) was close behind in 17:53 for 18th and sophomore Jessica Brandli (Rapid City, S.D.) was USD's fourth runner in 26th place with a time of 18:08. Junior Kelsey Robish (Huron, S.D.) rounded out USD's scorers in 18:10 for 29th place, while freshmen Ashleigh Giese (Marshall, Wisc.) and Kristin Steffen (Crofton, Neb.) were 30th and 33rd in 18:10 and 18:18, respectively.

You First The South Dakota men and women squads have seen their share of front runners this fall. Freshmen Travis Brenner and Jeff Mettler have both crossed the line as USD's first runner at two meets, but sophomore Ethan Marquardt was the top Coyote at the GWC Championships. For the women, freshman Megan Hilson paced South Dakota for the first three meets, but sophomore Carol Miller has been first at the last two.

Check out the Stats Fans can check out complete stats from the whole season here. A race-by-race breakdown is given, including place and time for each Coyote runner.

Still Sending Out the Seniors The GWC meet on Oct. 30 was the last conference meet for South Dakota's three seniors, but Saturday's dual will be the last official cross country race for Andrew Duba, Sarah Wickman and Tianna Hurtado.

The Don South Dakota has a distinct advantage for Coyote runners and it's right across the street. The Don Baker Cross Country Course is a year-round course that is permanently marked on a tree-filled, 10 acres just north of the DakotaDome at the intersection of SD Highway 50 and University Road. The course gives USD cross country a permanent home to train and host meets on, while times can be compared across years. The area was formerly a nine-hole golf course.

Next Up With the cross country season over, the distance runners jump right into the indoor track season. The fall track student-athletes have been busy training and recently announced the 2010-11 South Dakota indoor schedule. Check it out here.