November 21, 2009

CLEVELAND, OHIO . . . Cornell junior Andrew Tobben, the 2009 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) men's individual champion, was the only IIAC runner to earn All-America honors (top-35 finish) at the 2009 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College Saturday. Both IIAC women's schools that qualified as full teams finished in the Top 20 with Wartburg in 16th place and Central in 19th place.

Tobben, the only IIAC male runner to qualify and the first Cornell male to qualify since 1990, finished 28th in the 8,000-meter, 276-runner men's race in 26:01.9, the best finish since Tony Every placed fifth in 1990.

North Central (Ill.) captured the men's team title with 50 points behind seven runners in the top 25. The men's individual title was won by Lynchburg senior Ricky Flynn (25:09.8).

On the women’s side, Wartburg senior Anna Kraayenbrink, an All-American a year ago, was the league's top finisher, placing 42nd with a 6,000-meter time of 23:00.0. Simpson junior Catie Ellingson was next in 46th place, just 4.5 seconds behind. Central senior Amber Mayer led the Dutch contingent, placing 69th with a time of 23:18.0.

St. Lawrence junior Wendy Pavlus won the women's individual championship with a time of 21:28.0, denying a repeat bid for Marie Borner of Bethel (Minn.). Borner finished second, 17.8 seconds behind Pavlus. The University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire won its first NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship with 171 points, nine clear of St. Lawrence and 14 ahead of Calvin.

As a team, Wartburg finished 16th of 32 teams with 447 points, down from forth a year ago. It was the Knights' 13th NCAA appearance. Central, which qualified as a team for the first time since winning the 1981 NCAA title, placed 19th with 468 points.

In addition to Kraayenbrink, the Knights runners included seniors Jennifer Kuiken (99th, 23:37.5), Amanda Kuiken (126th, 23:48.3), Nicole Calabrese (224th, 24:57.0), and Brendelyn White (227th, 24:58.5), junior Lori Tlach (140th, 23:54.6), and sophomore Laura Sigmund (239th, 25:12.5). Other Central runners included seniors Angie Berry (94th, 23:33.50), Hannah Anderson (116th, 23:45.2), Amy Ledvina (162nd, 24:09.4), and Rachelle Tipton (270th, 25:53.5), sophomore Melanie Louis (232nd, 25:03.4), and freshman Mel McDermott (221st, 24:52.3)

Complete Men's Championship results can be found here — Team | Individual.

Complete Women's Championship results can be found here — Team | Individual.

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