The Grinnell College men's cross country team finished its stellar 2008 campaign on a solid note Saturday morning by placing 26th at the NCAA Division III National Meet in Hanover, Ind.

The Pioneers had 577 points and finished higher than their pre-national meet ranking of 30th. Grinnell was paced by Henry Reich '09, who was 56th place in 25:16.16 over the 8 kilometer course. David Montgomery '10 was 80th in 25:39.73, Sam Calisch '10 placed 115th in 25:57.02, Ethan Heppner '11 took 160th in 26:20.03 and Noah DeLong '11 was 185th in 26:31.89. Rounding out Grinnell's lineup were Nick Sparr '09, who was 195th in 26:36.93, and Alex Reich '11, who was 201st in 26:40.72.

The individual champ was Peter Kosgei of Hamilton, who ran the course in 24:22.03, while Cortland State won the team crown with 80 points.

"I think we ran pretty well and had some fast times," said Grinnell coach Will Freeman. "It is so, so competitive here. But the guys made it and improved on their ranking, so that's great. Plus we return five of our seven guys next year, so I feel good about that."
2008 NCAA Division III National Meet Results

The Grinnell College men's cross country team will look to close its already-successful 2008 campaign on a high note as the Pioneers participate in the NCAA Division III National Meet hosted by Hanover College in Hanover, Ind., on Saturday. The men's race is slated for 10 a.m. Grinnell time.

The Pioneers advanced to the meet as an at-large selection after finishing fourth at last Saturday's Central Region Meet at Oakland Acres Golf Course. Four Pioneers earned all-region recognition by finishing in the top 35 at the meet. They were Henry Reich '09 (20th place), Sam Calisch '10 (27th), David Montgomery '10 (33rd) and Noah DeLong '11 (34th). Rounding out the team are Alex Reich '11, Ethan Heppner '11 and Nick Sparr '09. Mike Horrell '09 is serving as the team's alternate.

Grinnell coach Will Freeman anticipated a successful season already this past summer. "We had high expectations coming in," he said. "The primary players who were back had made a real commitment to training in the summer. That's usually the indicator that they're serious."

The early season consisted of a trip to the University of Kansas for a meet before the Pioneers hosted the annual Les Duke Invitational. "A lot of teams that were coming for the regional meet came down to the Les Duke to try out the course," Freeman said. "It's the largest field we ever had and for us to finish fourth out of 30-some schools was encouraging."

Also encouraging was the team's trip to Stanford University in California for a meet. "That was a great chance to run against some D-I schools," said Freeman. "Even though it didn't do us any favors in terms of criteria for selection (to the NCAA Division III National Meet), it was a great trip. Then we went to the Oshkosh (Wis.) meet and saw some great D-III competition. This was a good chance to see where we were at and set us up well for conference."

Grinnell made history of sorts at the Midwest Conference Meet as the Pioneers posted a perfect score of 15. That had been done only twice before, both times in the 1970s by Carleton College.

"I don't know if everyone understands how impressive it is to get a perfect score," said Freeman. "In all my years, I've never seen it. It's a very rare thing and will certainly be a career highlight for me."

That led into the Central Region Meet. "We ran in pretty much the same conditions as we did at the Les Duke, only our times on average were a minute faster," said Freeman. "That shows how far these guys have progressed. It's encouraging."

As for the national meet, Freeman has some goals. "It's hard to say exactly where we'll finish since we don't run against a lot of these schools, but logically you'd say you'd be happy with the top 25," he explained. "I'd personally love to see the top 20, and anything better than that is icing on the cake."

After waiting 24 hours to learn its fate, the news was good for the Grinnell College men's cross country team.

The Pioneers were chosen as an at-large qualifier for the 2008 NCAA Division III National Meet on Sunday, a day after placing fourth at the Central Region Meet at Oakland Acres Golf Course. The national meet is Nov. 22 at Hanover, Ind.

The top two Central Region teams, Nebraska Wesleyan and St. John's (Minn.), earned automatic NCAA berths. Joining Grinnell as an at-large qualifier from the Central Region was St. Olaf (Minn.).
NCAA Division III National Meet Information

Four Grinnell College men's cross country runners earned all-region status as the Pioneers finished fourth as a team at the 26-team NCAA Central Region Meet Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course outside of Grinnell.

The top two teams qualify for the national meet, with the rest of the NCAA field being made up of at-large qualifiers. Grinnell will learn if it is an at-large qualifier Sunday.

Grinnell finished with 167 points, 19 behind third-place St. Olaf. Nebraska Wesleyan won the meet with 130 while St. John's placed second with 139.

Grinnell was paced by Henry Reich '09 (upper left), who was 20th in the 8 kilometer race in 26:12. Others earning all-region honors for the Pioneers were Sam Calisch '10 (upper right), who was 27th in 26:30, David Montgomery '10 (lower left), who was 33rd in 26:39.9 and Noah DeLong '11 (lower right), who was 34th in 26:40.2. The Pioneers fifth scorer was Alex Reich '11, who was 53rd in 26:58.6.

The individual champ was Luther's David McKay, who finished in 25:29.2. Bethel's Marie Borner was the champ of the women's 6 kilometer race in 21:28.1. Wartburg and Luther earned the women's automatic team berths to the NCAA meet by finishing first and second, respectively, with 92 and 95 points. Grinnell was 17th with 468.

Leading the Pioneers was Becky Bessinger '09, who was 67th in 24:28.4. Other scorers for the Pioneers were Sachi Graber '12 (85th in 24:52.6), Leah Russell '11 (95th in 25:09.9), Hannah Colter '12 (105th in 25:22) and Elizabeth Jach '09 (116th in 25:38.7).

The national meet is slated for Nov. 22 in Hanover, Ind.
Men's Results
Women's Results

Grinnell College will host the NCAA Division III Central Region Meet Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course. The men's event is at 11 a.m. and the women's race follows at noon.

The top two teams automatically qualify for the NCAA Meet, as do the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams. Here is a breakdown of the meet:

MEN'S TEAM RACE
The men's team race will be a barn-burner, as four teams were ranked between 26th and 33rd prior to their respective conference meets.

Regional host Grinnell posted a perfect score of 15 en route to winning the Midwest Conference title, the Pioneers' 12th league crown in a row. The Pioneers were rated 33rd prior to their conference meet.

Four teams battled to within 21 points at the MIAC meet, with St. Olaf emerging as the winner with 75 points. Hamline won a close battle for second with 87 points and was followed by St. Thomas with 93 and Bethel with 96. St. Thomas entered the meet at the No. 26 spot nationally and St. Olaf was 27th.

Like the MIAC, the IIAC title chase was also close with Luther nipping Loras by a 48-59 margin. Coe was a close third with 67 points and was followed by Simpson at 81.

Martin Luther enters the regional meet as the UMAC champion, having beaten Northwestern by a 46-61 margin. St. Scholastica took third with 73 points.

Nebraska Wesleyan is the lone GPAC entry in the regional, but is expected to make some noise after being ranked 30th earlier this month.

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RACE
Grinnell's perfect score at the Midwest Conference meet was led by Henry Reich, who claimed top individual honors. Rounding out the top five for the Pioneers were Sam Calisch, Noah DeLong, David Montgomery, and Nick Sparr. All five were within 31 seconds of each other.

Duboul Ruon of St. Olaf was the MIAC individual champion, defeating Martin Mudry of Macalester by 4 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Brandon Gleason of Hamline, Dan Greeno of Bethel and Dan Foley of Gustavus Adolphus. Greeno was fourth at last year's regional meet.

Brian Chenoweth of Wartburg beat David McKay of Luther by 7 seconds to take top honors at the IIAC meet. Rounding out the top five were John Fry of Loras, Brad O'Neill of Coe and Eric Osterhaus of Simpson. McKay was fifth at last year's regional meet.

Nathan Loersch of Martin Luther won the UMAC title by 7 seconds over Daniel Bare of North Central. Rounding out the top five were Jake Turman of St. Scholastica, Seth Brickley of Crown and Joel Groten of Northwestern.

Logan Watley has been Nebraska Wesleyan's top runner this season.

WOMEN'S TEAM RACE
Wartburg entered the IIAC meet ranked third in the nation, and showed the lofty standing was well-deserved as the Knights easily out-distanced runner-up Luther 28-49. Luther entered the meet ranked 30th. Loras was third with 90 points.

The MIAC meet was all it was cracked up to be, as the top three teams finished within five points of each other. St. Thomas eked out the team title with 66 points and was followed by Bethel and Carleton with 68 and 71 points, respectively. St. Thomas entered the meet ranked 14th, Bethel was 28th and Carleton 11th. Fourth-place St. Olaf was ranked 27th.

Grinnell had its string of Midwest Conference titles broken, but still managed a tie for third with St. Norbert College. Each team had 75 points.

St. Scholastica had little trouble in the UMAC meet, winning by a 23-72 margin over runner-up Northwestern. Minnesota Morris was third with 86.

Nebraska Wesleyan is the only GPAC entry in the regional, but is expected to fare well after being ranked 21st earlier this month.

WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RACE
Mary Bridget Corken of Loras won the IIAC individual crown, defeating runner-up Anna Kraayenbrink of Wartburg by 10 seconds. Janet Dobyns of Luther was third, followed by Rachelle Hawkins of Cornell and Emily VanOosbree of Wartburg. Dobyns won last year's regional title.

Marie Borner of Bethel cruised to the MIAC title as she defeated teammate and runner-up Alex Potter by 45 seconds. Simone Childs-Walker of Carleton was third, followed by Katie Theisen of St. Thomas and Hailey Brenden of Concordia. Borner was second at last year's regional meet and Theisen placed fourth.

Leah Russell and Maja Gamble led Grinnell at the Midwest Conference meet, placing 10th and 12th, respectively. Becky Bessinger has also been a strong runner for the Pioneers.

Katelyn Meger led a 1-3 sweep for St. Scholastica at the UMAC meet, as she defeated teammate Jessie Lovering by nearly a minute. Third went to Tara Connelly, while Mel Olson of Northwestern and Elizabeth Haasch of Martin Luther rounded out the top five.

Jackie Spelts has been Nebraska Wesleyan's top runner this season.

The Grinnell College men's cross country moved from 33rd to 28th this week in the NCAA Division III rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers received a total of 57 voting points. The top-ranked team is Cortland State, followed by North Central and Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

One word can describe the performance of the Grinnell College men's cross country team as the Pioneers raced to their 12th consecutive Midwest Conference title Saturday at Lake Storey Park in Galesburg, Ill.

That word is "perfection."

The Pioneers recorded a perfect score of 15, marking just the third time in league history a squad has accomplished such a feat. Carleton did it in 1974 and 1976. Henry Reich '09 raced his way to the individual title in 25:51, just a second off the course record.

Also contributing to the perfect score were runner-up Sam Calisch '10 (25:59), third-place runner Noah DeLong '11 (26:05), fourth-place finisher David Montgomery '10 (26:12) and fifth-place finisher Nick Sparr '09 (26:22). The Pioneers had three other runners earn all-conference honors by finishing in the top 20 - Alex Reich '11 (10th in 26:40), Ethan Heppner '11 (12th in 26:45) and Mike Horrell '09 (17th in 27:10).

"The guys are coming around nicely," said Grinnell coach Will Freeman, who was named the MWC Men's Coach of the Year. "That's showing in workouts and meets. They're a pretty impressive group - they stepped up and are right on track. Not only is the perfect score impressive, but the fact that there was only a 30-second spread among those guys shows the strength of this group."

Grinnell hosts the NCAA Division III Regional Meet on Nov. 15 at Oakland Acres Golf Course.
MWC Men's Results

For the second time this season, Grinnell College's Henry Reich '09 has been named the Midwest Conference Men's Cross Country Performer of the Week.

Reich, from Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi High School), ran a 25:06 at Saturday's University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational to move into sixth all-time at Grinnell for an 8 kilometer race. He led the team to its best performance ever, as the Pioneers averaged 25:32.

Jessica Davey of Ripon College was named the Midwest Conference Women's Cross Country Performer of the Week

The Grinnell College men's cross country team finished ninth in a strong field at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational Saturday at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis.

The Pioneers, who had 283 team points, were led by Henry Reich '12. He finished 26th place in 25:06 over the 8 kilometer course. He was followed by David Montgomery '10, who was 47th in 25:25, and Noah DeLong '11, who was 60th in 25:33. Rounding out the top five were Sam Calisch '10 (66th in 25:38) and Ethan Heppner '11 (84th in 25:55).

North Central edged Wisconsin-Stevens Point 68-73 for the team title. Willy Kaul of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the individual crown in 24:00.

On the women's side, Grinnell finished 20th with 529 points. Leading the Pioneers was Becky Bessinger '09, who was 89th place and ran the 6 kilometer course in 23:42. She was followed by Hannah Colter '12, who was 97th in 23:47, and Maja Gamble '11, who was 99th in 23:49. Rounding out the top five were Leah Russell '11 (116th in 24:09) and Sachi Graber '12 (128th in 24:20).

Calvin won the team title with 59 points, while Marie Borner of Bethel won the individual crown in 20:37.

Grinnell heads to Galesburg, Ill., on Nov. 1 to compete in the Midwest Conference Championships.
Men's Results
Click here to see cross country photo gallery

The Grinnell College men's cross country is 31st the NCAA Division III rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers received a total of 45 voting points. The top-ranked team is Cortland State, followed by North Central and Wisconsin-La Crosse.
National Rankings

The Grinnell College men's cross country team remained third in this week's NCAA Division III Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Hamline (Minn.) is ranked first and is followed by Nebraska Wesleyan. Rounding out the top five are Grinnell, St. Thomas (Minn.) and St. Olaf (Minn.). Bethel (Minn.) is sixth, followed by St. John's (Minn.), Coe, Luther and Loras.
Central Region Rankings

Mike Horrell '09 led the Grinnell College men's cross country team at Saturday's Lamb-Kohawk Invitational hosted by Coe College, placing eighth individually at the event.

Horrell (pictured) ran the 8 kilometer course at Jones Park in 27:31.11. Kyle Lynch-Klarup '10 was 13th in 27:52.93 and Ian McCallum-Cook '12 took 32nd in 29:09.19. Others in the top five for the Pioneers, which didn't have their top runners compete at the meet, were Kevin Cashman '10 (47th in 30:18.06) and Joseph Hiller '12 (48th in 30:21.54).

Grinnell was fifth in the team standings with 128 points. The champ was Coe College with 39 points and Walter Bolingo of Southwestern Community College was the individual winner in 25:36.43.

Grinnell's women placed second with 75 points and were out-distanced only by the University of Northern Iowa. Leading Grinnell was Becky Bessinger '09, who toured the 6 kilometer layout at Jones Park in 24:38.52. That was good for 11th place. She was followed by Leah Russell '11 (13th place in 24:53.95) and Hannah Colter '12 (14th place in 24:55.47).

Rounding out Grinnell's top five were Elizabeth Jach '09 (18th place in 25:20.38) and Maja Gamble '11 (19th place in 25:25.95). The individual champ was Caedryn Schrunk of Northern Iowa, who ran 21:54.16.

The Pioneers travel to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh next Saturday to compete in the Brooks Invitational.
Meet Results

The Grinnell College men's cross country team has jumped into the NCAA Division III rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers received a total of 53 voting points and hold down the 29th position. The top-ranked team is Cortland State, followed by North Central and Wisconsin-La Crosse.
National Rankings

The Grinnell College men's cross country team rose a spot to third in this week's NCAA Division III Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers had been tied for fourth. Hamline (Minn.) took over the top spot from Luther College and is followed by Nebraska Wesleyan, Grinnell, St. Thomas (Minn.) and St. Olaf (Minn.). Rounding out the top 10 are Bethel (Minn.), St. John's (Minn.), Coe, Luther and Loras.
Regional Rankings

The Grinnell College cross country teams got a chance to compete against some of the top teams in the nation Saturday, regardless of NCAA Division, and were up to the challenge when they ran at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

Grinnell's men finished 19th and were led by Henry Reich '09, who was 56th individually among runners. He ran the 8 kilometer race in 26:01. David Montgomery '10 was next in line, taking 79th place in 26:29, while Noah DeLong '11 was 123rd in 27:20. Rounding out the Pioneers' top seven were Sam Calisch '10 (128th in 27:24), Alex Reich '11 (129th in 27:25), Ethan Heppner '11 (134th in 27:29) and Nick Sparr (137th in 27:31). Grinnell finished with 515 points, 31 ahead of 20th-place Pepperdine.

The Pioneer women were 31st with 929 points. Nora Colter '10 led the pack by placing 177th individually, running the 6 kilometer race in 25:14 Elizabeth Jach '09 was 184th in 25:42 and Becky Bessinger '09 took 185th in 25:45. Rounding out the field for Grinnell were Lilah Melzer '11 (190th in 26:00), Leah Russell '11 (193rd in 26:05), Sachi Graber '11 (200th in 26:19) and Hannah Colter '11 (204th in 26:32). The Pioneers also had runners compete in Augustana College's Brissman-Lundeen Invitational on Saturday. Grinnell's men took 16th place and were paced by Paul Bellora '10, who finished 43rd in 27:07.4, and Ian McCallum-Cook '12, who took 77th in 28:06.4. The women were 18th place, as Annie Tempest '12 was the top runner. She placed 99th in 25:38.3.
Stanford Men's Results
Brissman-Lundeen Meet Results

The Grinnell College men's and women's cross country teams will get their fill of excellent competition this Saturday when they compete in the Stanford University Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

The men's field alone includes four nationally-ranked NCAA Division I teams, including the host Cardinal, who are 11th. Other ranked teams in the men's field are California (19th), Cal Poly (21st) and Arkansas (22nd). The hosts are also ranked in the women's field as they hold down the fourth spot nationally. There are also a number of regionally-ranked teams in the field at the D-I, D-II and D-III levels. Grinnell's men are among them, plus also hold down the No. 32 spot nationally in D-III.

The Pioneer men are coming off a strong performance at the Les Duke Invitational, finishing fourth out of a 26-team field. The team was led by Midwest Conference Performer of the Week Henry Reich '09, who finished 11th with a time of 26:54. Other notable finishers were David Montgomery's '10 25th-place finish in 27:18 and Dan Krauss's '12 37th-place finish in a time of 27:42.

The women finished 19th out of 24 teams. They were paced by Catherine Bisignano '12, who finished 79th in a time of 25:29. Fellow first-year Sachi Graber '12 was the next Pioneer through the chute with an 82nd-place finish.

The Pioneers' second units will also be in action Saturday, participating in the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College.

The Grinnell College men's cross country team has jumped into the NCAA Division III rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers received a total of 30 voting points and hold down the 32nd position. The top-ranked team is Cortland State, followed by Calvin and Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Grinnell's varsity travels to Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend to compete in the Stanford University Invitational.
National Rankings

The Grinnell College men's cross country team is tied for fourth in the NCAA Division III Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Luther College took over the top spot from Nebraska Wesleyan, which dipped to third. Hamline (Minn.) is second and St. Olaf (Minn.) is tied with Grinnell for fourth. Rounding out the top 10 are St. John's (Minn.) in sixth, followed by Bethel (Minn.), St. Thomas (Minn.), Loras and Wartburg.
Regional Rankings

Grinnell College's Henry Reich '12 has been named the Midwest Conference Men's Cross Country Performer of the Week.

Reich, from Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS), finished 11th out of 361 runners to lead Grinnell to a strong finish at the Pioneers' own Les Duke Invitational last Saturday. He had a time of 26:54 over the 8 kilometer course. The Pioneers finished fourth in the 31-team field and were just 24 points out of first place. Jenny Scherer of St. Norbert College was the MWC Women's Performer of the Week.

The Grinnell College men's cross country team made a strong showing at its own Les Duke Invitational Saturday morning, placing fourth among a field of 31 teams and beating a pair of nationally-ranked squads.

Henry Reich '09 (left) led the Pioneers, placing 11th on the 8 kilometer course at Oakland Acres Golf Club. He had a time of 26:54. Next in line for Grinnell was David Montgomery '10 (right), who was 25th in 27:18. Rounding out the Pioneers' top seven were Dan Krauss '12 (37th in 27:42), Ethan Heppner '11 (40th in 27:49), Noah DeLong '11 (41st in 27:49), Chris Wilson '11 (42nd in 27:50) and Sam Calisch '10 (43rd in 27:50).

Grinnell finished with 154 points and was just 10 behind third-place Hamline and 24 out of first. Iowa Central Community College won the tight team race with 130 points, seven in front of runner-up and No. 24 ranked Washington University. Grinnell finished ahead of both St. Olaf and Bethel, who are ranked 25th and 35th, respectively. The individual champ was Iowa Central's Stephen Dak, who had a time of 25:34.

On the women's side for Grinnell, Catherine Bisignano '12 finished 79th to lead the way. She toured the 6 kilometer course in 25 minutes, 29 seconds. Next in line for the hosts was Sachi Graber '12, who was 82nd in 25:34. Rounding the Pioneers' top seven were Maja Gamble '11 (88th in 25:41), Elizabeth Jach '09 (96th in 25:49), Leah Russell '11 (104th in 25:59), Hannah Colter '12 (108th in 26:04) and Nora Colter '10 (124th in 26:36).

Grinnell was 19th in the team standing with 449 points. Wartburg was the champ, beating runner-up Carleton by a 104-141 margin. The individual champ was Marie Borner of Bethel, who finished in 22:08.

The Pioneers' next action Saturday, Sept. 27, when the varsity teams travel to California for the Stanford Invitational and the junior varsity heads to the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College.
Les Duke Invitational Men's Results
Les Duke Photos

The Grinnell College men's cross country team remained fifth in the Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Nebraska Wesleyan continues to hold down the top spot in the Central Region and is followed by Luther, St. Olaf, Bethel and Grinnell. Rounding out the top 10 are St. Thomas (Minn.), St. John's (Minn.), Wartburg, Hamline and Coe.
Central Region Rankings

The Grinnell College cross country teams both had strong starts to their 2008 campaigns, as each finished third in their respective divisions at the Bob Timmons Classic hosted by the University of Kansas on a hot Saturday.

The Pioneer men had 94 points to finish behind the host school and Butler County Community College (the Kansas alumni team also competed but does not officially count).

Henry Reich '09 (pictured) led the Pioneers with an eighth-place finish in 26:23.1 over the 8 kilometer course. Next in line for the Pioneers were David Montgomery '10 and Nick Sparr '09, who were 17th and 18th in 27:12.8 and 27:15.8, respectively. Dan Krauss '12 was 22nd in 27:24.9 and Sam Calisch '10 placed 24th in 27:27.1.

On the women's side, Elizabeth Jach '09 led the way with a 20th-place finish on the 5 kilometer course. Her time was 21:07.6. She was followed by Catherine Bisignano '12 (22nd in 21:12.2), Rachel Whitfield (26th in 21:21.5), Sarah Casson (30th in 21:34.3) and Becky Bessinger (35th in 21:40.8).

Grinnell tallied 96 points in the team standings. Kansas won the team crown and Butler County Community College was second.

The Pioneers host the annual Les Duke Invitational Sept. 13 at Oakland Acres Golf Course.
Bob Timmons Men's Meet Results
Bob Timmons Photos

With many of its top runners returning, the Grinnell College men's cross country team is seeking another big season in 2008.

The Pioneers, who claimed their 11th consecutive Midwest Conference title last fall, return six runners from that team who earned all-league honors. Henry Reich '10 placed seventh to lead the pack, while other all-conference returnees include David Montgomery '10 (eighth place), Noah DeLong '11 (11th), Ethan Heppner '11 (14th), Sam Calisch '10 (15th) and Mike Horrell '09 (19th). The conference title was Grinnell's 24th in program history, which passed Carleton for best of any school.

Coach Will Freeman expects other returnees to be key contributors, including Drake Ballew '09, the 2006 conference champion who was off last year due to injury. Others in the mix will be Nick Sparr '09, who is coming off a strong track season, and Chris Wilson '11, also considered a very solid runner by the coach. "Calisch, Montgomery, Sparr and Reich all trained together this summer," said Freeman. "They are likely four of the top five and are very fit."

First-years whom Freeman said may contribute are Joe Hiller, Dan Krauss, Griffin Smith, Marcus Zeitz and the McCallum-Cook twins, Colin and Ian.

Freeman said a highlight for the Pioneers will be the chance to host two meets this season, the annual Les Duke Invitational on Sept. 13 as well as the NCAA Division III Regional Meet on Nov. 15. Both will be at Oakland Acres Golf Club. "We're expecting a strong alumni presence at the Les Duke as we're having a reunion of former runners that weekend," said Freeman.

There were 99 NCAA Division III men's teams to earn the award and 141 women's squads. For a team to be considered for the award, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet and earned a minimum 3.10 team cumulative grade point average.

Distance running legend Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic marathon champion, spoke to a captive audience of 200-plus during a presentation at Darby Gymnasium on the campus of Grinnell College last weekend.

Shorter's appearance was held in conjunction with the annual National Distance Running Summit hosted by the college. Besides his presentation at Darby, Shorter also spoke during a Summit session and met one-on-one for an interview with Grinnell College Sports Information Director Ted Schultz.

Shorter not only discussed his Olympic victory, but his near repeat win in the 1976 Games. However, he finished second that year to virtual unknown Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany. Cierpinski's win has come under heavy scrutiny, though, due to alleged drug use by him and much of the East German Olympic team.

Since then, Shorter has been a major advocate in the battle against the use of performance-enhancing methods that tilt the playing field. In 2000, he became the first-ever chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. That independent agency replaced the United States Olympic Committee's program.

"Because of that agency, bad people were replaced by people without conflicts of interest," Shorter explained. "It's getting to the point where the good guys are taking over. I think the paradigm has shifted in favor of the clean athletes. We're getting to the point where the clean athletes know that even if someone is doing drugs, they'll probably get caught."

Shorter's presentation at Darby was titled "The State of Distance Running in the United States." Things went downhill in the 1970s, said Shorter, but are now on the upswing. "Looking at American distance running, it started going down around the time of the 1976 Olympics," said Shorter. "The East Germans won more medals than any other country in those Olympics and you can answer your own question as to why. You can't take the drugs out of the history. My theme here is working through the denial. Many times with denial, you're well-meaning but feel you have no control of what's going on so it's better to pretend it's not there. By 1984 the men were already off the map (in terms of distance running) and the women were close in terms of the size of talent pool. But again, in looking for a reason, you have to factor in the 800-pound gorilla who's in the game."

But the growing disparity wasn't simply of physical nature. "There's the psychological effect of clean people lining up against people they knew were cheating," said Shorter. "How does that impact you in your race and when you're on the track doing your intervals? Do you really believe you can beat the guy you know is on drugs?"

But as performance-enhancing methods such as drugs and doping are being eliminated from the equation, the playing field is becoming more balanced, said Shorter. "I think it's coming around," Shorter said of the Americans' quest to return to elite status. "We're showing there's hope when you have someone like Ryan Hall not only winning the Olympic marathon trials, but running 2:09:02 on a tough course. People are actually looking at that performance and thinking he has a chance. I think it's becoming more apparent that the playing field is going back to level, and because of that Americans will do better."

On a side note, Shorter touched on his relationship with distance running legend Steve Prefontaine, who was killed in an auto accident in 1975. Two movies were made on Prefontaine's life, helping launch him to the status of icon. "Steve and I were actually very good friends," said Shorter, one of the last people to see Prefontaine alive. "We were also complimentary training partners. That's what American distance running needs, a return to the time when athletes chose with whom they wanted to train. It wasn't the agents, coaches or shoe companies deciding. The best talent has to get together to train without agents worrying their man might somehow give up some advantage by doing so."

Shorter added that he is known by younger running enthusiasts partly because of the Prefontaine movies. "Kids will come up and just look at me," said Shorter. "So I head them off at the pass and say, 'You want to talk about Steve, right?' And that's often what they want."

Charlie Knuth '08 and David Montgomery '10 both earned all-region honors for the Grinnell College men's cross country team at Saturday's NCAA Division III Central Region event in Northfield, Minn.

Knuth placed 32nd in the 8 kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 18 seconds, while Montgomery was 34th in 26:19. The top 35 individuals are all-region.

Rounding out the Pioneers' lineup were Noah DeLong '11 (49th in 26:36), Henry Reich '09 (58th in 26:48), Sam Calisch '10 (64th in 26:55), Ethan Heppner '11 (69th in 27:03) and David Krist '08 (73rd in 27:12).

The Pioneers were ninth in the team standings with 237 points. Nebraska Wesleyan and Luther were first and second to earn the automatic spots in the national meet. At-large team qualifiers will likely be picked from the region, too, but only top five finishers are considered. The top seven individuals in a region not on qualifying teams also make the national meet.
NCAA Central Region men's results

It was a clean sweep for the Grinnell College cross country teams at the Midwest Conference Championships Saturday at Nichols Park in Jacksonville, Ill.

The Pioneer men won their 11th league title in a row and the women their fourth straight. On top of that, Sarah Spencer '08 defended her women's individual title. Grinnell's men now own 24 MWC cross country titles, which is best-ever in the league and surpasses Carleton's 23.

Grinnell's women easily won them team title, scoring 38 points compared to runner-up Carroll's total of 71. The Pioneer men tallied 45 points to beat runner-up St. Norbert College by six.

The day started on a stellar note for the Pioneers as Spencer ran the 5 kilometer course in 17 minutes, 59.92 seconds and Allison Louthan '08 finished as the runner-up in 18:18.95, beating two-time MWC champ Erin Kelley of Carroll College, who was third.

Becky Bessinger '09 was sixth in 19:26.69, Maja Gamble '11 added a 10th-place finish in 19:56.90 and Elizabeth Jach '09 was 19th in 20:13.43. Rounding out the top seven were Rachel Whitfield '10 (21st in 20:28.23) and Erin Sindewald '08 (28th in 20:54.23).

The Pioneer men used a solid pack to take the title. Henry Reich '09 led that pack by placing seventh in the 8 kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 21.77 seconds. He was followed by David Montgomery '10 (eighth in 26:27.92), David Krist '08 (ninth in 26:36.85), Charles Knuth '08 (10th in 26:42.10) and Noah DeLong '11 (11th in 26:46.23).

Other top 20 finishers were Ethan Heppner '11 (14th in 26:49.52), Sam Calisch '10 (15th in 26:49.84) and Mike Horrell '09 (19th in 26:54.39). The overall champ was Jeff Pentek of St. Norbert, who ran 25:17.37.

Both Grinnell teams have two weeks off before competing in the NCAA Regional Meet at Northfield, Minn.

Click here for MWC Men's Results

Click here for MWC Championship Photos