Wayzata, Eden Prairie gain national CC meet

A boys' cross-country club team from Wayzata and a girls' club squad from Eden Prairie have qualified for the Nike cross-country national championships Dec. 6 in Portland, Ore.

The Minnesota teams, which won Class 2A titles at the Nov. 1 state meet, finished first in Saturday's Nike Heartland region championships in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Wayzata team members are Danny Ducharme, Jeremy Drenckhahn, Oliver Haugland, Andrew Wasz, Josh Thorson, Landon Lozano and Jon Hackbart.

Runners for Eden Prairie are Cassy Opitz, Megan Platner, Allie Rudin, Laura Lawton, Hanna Hoch, Alex Birkle, and Dana Jeter.

Minnesota individuals who qualified for the Nike national meet are Jakub Zivec (Grand Rapids), Lukas Gemar (Moorhead), Mahad Hassan (Willmar), Drew Paradis (Alexandria) and Jamie Piepenburg (Alexandria).

Sophomore goalie Alex Kangas has been named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week in the WCHA along with St. Cloud State goalie Jase Weslosky.

Kangas had 24 saves in a 2-2 overtime tie with Michigan Tech on Saturday and 38 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Huskies the next day. That shutout was his first in college. Michigan Tech was 0-for-13 on power plays in those two games.

This is the second time this season that Kangas has been honored and the fifth time a Gopher has received one of the WCHA's three Player of the Week awards.

Weslosky and the Huskies beat then-No. 4 Denver 4-2 and 2-1. He had 48 saves in the two games.

The WCHA will vote on lifting its ban on expansion at its January meeting. The University of Minnesota requested that such a proposal be an action item at the next conference meeting and, on Tuesday, the WCHA's executive committee unanimously approved. The Gophers' Don Lucia represents men's hockey coaches on that four-person body.

The Gophers' women's soccer team third-round NCAA playoff game is now set. The Gophers will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Notre Dame.

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS