November 14, 2009

GRINNELL, IOWA . . . Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Cross Country women's champion Wartburg College took third, while men's champion Luther College took sixth to lead all league teams at the NCAA Central Region Championships held Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course near Grinnell. A total of five IIAC teams (two men and three women) and Wartburg's Anna Kraayenbrink finished in the top-10.

The Knight women scored 128 points, 33 back of Regional Champion Carleton. Central placed fourth with 172 points and Luther was seventh with 185 points to round out the IIAC teams in the women's top-10.

Kraayenbrink, the 2009 IIAC individual champion, finished second in the regional field for the second consecutive year, completing the 6-kilometer course in a time of 21:36.6, 21 seconds behind defending regional champion Marie Borner of Bethel (Minn.).

Other Iowa Conference schools competing with full women’s teams in the 26-team field were Simpson (13th, 341 points), Loras (14th, 361 points), Cornell (18th, 526 points), Dubuque (20th, 582 points), and Coe (23rd, 713 points). Buena Vista did not field a complete team.

On the men's side, Luther finished sixth with 149 points, 33 points back of both St. Thomas and Nebraska Wesleyan and two behind Grinnell, which occupied the final spot to be eligible for at-large consideration. Cornell placed ninth with 197 points.

Cornell junior Andrew Tobben, the 2009 IIAC individual champion, was the highest placed Iowa Conference runner, placing 12th after covering the 8-kilometer course in 25:23.0.

Other Iowa Conference schools competing with full men’s teams in the 26-team field were Wartburg College (11th, 270 points), Coe College (12th, 303 points), Loras College (14th, 382 points), Central College (17th, 474 points), Simpson College (18th, 508 points), Buena Vista University (24th, 788 points), and University of Dubuque (25th, 792 points).

All-Region Runners: The top-35 finishers in both the men’s and women’s races are designated All-Region. Nineteen IIAC runners, including 11 women and eight men, received All-Region honors. On the women’s side, in addition to Kraayenbrink, Simpson junior Catie Ellingson (11th, 22:27.0), Central seniors Amber Mayer (13th, 22:29.9), Angie Berry (21st, 22:47.2), and Hannah Anderson (29th, 23:01.6), Wartburg seniors Jennifer Kuiken (14th, 24:34.5) and Brendelyn White (32nd, 23:04.7) and junior Lori Tlach (24th, 22:52.6), Luther senior Katie Dolan (19th, 22:38.6), junior Kim Horner (28th, 23:01.0), and sophomore Melissa Erickson (25th, 22:55.2) received All-Region recognition. The honor is the third for Berry, Kraayenbrink and Kuiken and the second for Dolan, Ellingson, and Tlach.

On the men’s side, in addition to Tobben, Luther senior Karl Larson (16th, 25:41.6), Coe senior Lane Moser (22nd, 25:54.5), Cornell sophomores Ben Jacobs (24th, 25:57.0) and Chase Nowak (26th, 25:58.7), Wartburg junior Jon Stover (28th, 25:59.6), and Luther juniors Kyle Buck (29th, 26:04.4) and Jordan Lang (31st, 26:06.7) received All-Region recognition. The All-Region honors are the third for Tobben.

Complete NCAA Central Region Championship men's results are here.

Complete NCAA Central Region Championship women's results are here.

National Qualifiers: The men’s and women’s national fields will include 32 teams and 56 individuals each. The top-two teams from each Regional plus 16 at-large teams will fill the team field. Seven individuals per region, from non-qualifying teams, will be selected.

While no teams automatically qualified for the National meet with a top-two finish, the Wartburg and Central women will be under consideration for at-large berths. With her finish, Kraayenbrink automatically qualified for nationals as an individual. However, if the Knights are selected as one of the 16 at-large teams, that would open the door for Simpson's Ellingson. Cornell's Tobben and Luther's Larson also have outside shots at qualifying as individuals. Tobben would need at least four teams selected from the region, while Larson would need the maximum five.

The NCAA will announce the national field Sunday, November 15. The 2009 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships are Saturday, November 21 at Highland Hills Golf Course, Cleveland, Ohio, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College. The women’s race starts at 11:00 a.m. ET followed by the men’s race at noon ET. The Championship field will be posted here. The National Championship web site is here.

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