Cross country runners gearing up for season opener

The North Iowa cross country teams will look to build up both their seasoned runners and their newcomers this fall, with their first meet coming up on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at NIACC.

The Lady Bison return two seniors, Lauren Hillesland and Ava Meinders, to lead this year’s squad. Hillesland is a three-time state qualifier who medaled at last year’s big race with a 15th place finish. Meinders also has experience at state, where she competed with her team her freshman year. She recently posted the second fastest two-mile time trial in North Iowa program history during practice.