The Upper Iowa men's cross country team competed in their first NSIC Championships on Saturday afternoon in Wayne, Neb. The Peacocks finished 13th in the 14-team field with an average time of 31:38.13.

UIU was led by Dalton Schaffer who placed 85th with a time of 29:35.87. Grant Dieken (30:20.55) and David Snider (30:49.56) finished shortly after, crossing the finish line in 94th and 97th place, respectively. Samuel Thomas ran a 33:37.31 to finish 104th and Zach Dingbaum clocked a 33:47.33 for a 105th place finish. 

Augustana won its 10th NSIC Championship in the past 11 years. The Vikings scored 37 team points after four runners finished in the top-seven. Aaron Runge of Augustana was the individual championship as he traversed the 8k course in 25:03.98 to finish nearly 13 seconds ahead of 2017 champion Mason Phillips of the University of Sioux Falls. 

Minnesota State University Moorhead finished second with 67 points fueled by Nadir Yusuf's third place finish (25:22.47). 

Next up for the Peacocks will be the NCAA Regional, which will take place in Joplin, Mo. on Sat., Nov. 9. The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will be held on Sat., Nov. 23 at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, Calif.