Prigge named NSIC Senior of the Year as BSU completes NSIC Championship

Bemidji State University cross country senior Ryne Prigge paced the team and was named the recipient of the inaugural senior of the year award at the 2021 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Cross Country Championships in Wayne, Neb., on Saturday morning. The Beavers finished 11th of 16 teams during the 6,000-meter race hosted by Wayne State College.

Prigge placed 51st with a time of 24:06.14 followed by freshman Mary Goodwin in 59th with a time of 24:21.25. Freshman Zoey Mills took 64th with a time of 24:34.64 while fellow freshman Carol Miller took 91st with a personal record time of 25:34.57.

Augustana University took the team title with five of the top six finishers. Winona State University freshman Lindsay Cunningham earned the individual NSIC championship with a time of 21:21.42.

Prigge was named the inaugural NSIC Senior of the Year for women’s cross country during the 2021 NSIC Cross Country Championships award ceremony. A native of Ely, Minn., and a nursing major, Prigge was voted to the honor by the league coaches. She holds a 3.72 cumulative grade point average and is the most decorated distance runner at Bemidji State in over a decade.

Prigge is coming off a powerful junior track season as an Academic All-American in the indoor 800-meter (2:13.77). She has been the top runner at all cross country distances over her first three years. In 2019 she earned CoSIDA All-Academic Team honors, was part of the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence and earned the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award.

“Bemidji State Cross Country is on an upward trajectory because of the energy and kindness Ryne has dedicated towards our program,” said Head Coach Kevin Kean.

The “NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year Award” is presented to an NSIC women’s cross country student-athlete who participates at their institution for four years and is academically superior while making a positive contribution to their team and the University. The NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year award was initiated in 2020-21 to honor an outstanding senior that exemplifies the attributes of the model NSIC student-athlete.

Bemidji State will now send its top student-athletes to the 2021 NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 6 in Joplin, Mo.