WINONA, Minn. - Lindsay Cunningham was named the 2023 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Athlete of the Year by coaches from around the league, as the two-time defending NSIC individual champion looks poised to have another dominant season for the Warriors. In addition, Winona State was picked to finish second overall as a team in the 2023 NSIC Women's Cross Country coaches' poll.

Cunningham has won the past two NSIC women's cross country championships and is a two-time defending NCAA Division II Central Region Cross Country champion as well. The senior from Wisconsin Dells, Wis. has earned two NCAA Cross Country All-American awards and took second overall at last year's 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships. Cunningham has earned NSIC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week on six occasions. 

As a team, Winona State qualified for the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships and finished 11th overall among 34 teams. Running at Chambers Bay, Wash., WSU saw Kaylee Beyer take 36th place overall (21:19.1) while McKenna Taylor was 52nd (21:31.8).  Warrior teammates Sophia Taarud finished among the top 100 runners in NCAA Division II cross county, at 97th (22:01.9) and  Rhya Brandemuehl rounded out the WSU top five scorers, running a time of 23:48.0. 

Head coach John Hibshman has earned NSIC and USTFCCCA honors in both his role as head coach of the Warrior cross country programs and as an assistant coach with the Winona State track & field team. He welcomes a 2023 WSU team that returns Cunningham, Beyer, Taylor and Taarud, as well as a host of newcomers, providing depth to the roster.

Winona State earned 184 points overall in the poll, just seven back of first-place Augustana University. WSU garnered six first-place votes from among the coaches in the poll. 

Fans, families and followers of Winona State cross country will get their first look at the 2023 Warrior squad on Friday, Sept. 8 when WSU travels to the University of Wisconsin Green Bay.  The Warriors will take on a highly competitive field, including multiple NCAA Division I program, with race time set for 4 p.m.

For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.

About Winona State University Athletics: 

The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.  

Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).  Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.