Hannah Colter '12 (left) and Annie Tempest '12 (right) led the way for the Grinnell College women's cross country team at Saturday's NCAA Division III Central Region Meet at Oakland Acres Golf Course.

Colter finished 62nd in 23 minutes, 46.2 seconds over the 6 kilometer course, while Tempest was 81st in 24:11.7. Rounding out Grinnell's scoring list were Maja Gamble '11 (86th in 24:14.6), Leah Russell '11 (108th in 24:43.8) and Rachel Whitfield '10 (113th in 24:55.1).

Grinnell was 17th as a team with 450 points. The champ was Carleton, which edged Nebraska Wesleyan 95-99. The top two teams and seven individuals from non-qualifying teams automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. At-large berths will be determined Sunday.

Bethel's Marie Borner was the individual champ on Saturday, winning in 21:15.4.

On the men's side, Grinnell had a trio of runners earn All-Region honors. Dan Krauss '12 led the way, placing 13th in a time of 25:26.3 over the 8 kilometer course. Joining him in earning All-Region honors were Alex Reich '11 and Noah DeLong '11, who were 15th and 18th in 25:39.8 and 25:45.3, respectively. DeLong is a repeat All-Region honoree.

Rounding out Grinnell's list of scorers were David Montgomery '10, who was 44th in 26:32.6, and Shyam Deshpande '11, who was 57th in 26:43.4.

Grinnell was fifth in the team standing with 147 points. St. Thomas and Nebraska Wesleyan both scored 116 points, but St. Thomas was awarded the team title on the tie-breaker. The individual champ was Bethel's Dan Greeno, who finished in 24:49.0.
Women's Results

For the second year in a row, Grinnell College will serve host for the NCAA Division III Central Region Cross Country Meet. This year's event is slated for Saturday, Nov. 14, at Oakland Acres Golf Course five miles west of Grinnell.

The women's race is slated for 11 a.m. with the men to follow at noon. The top two teams automatically qualify for the NCAA National Meet, as do the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams. Other teams will be considered for at-large national berths.

The meet features 10 teams listed in the national rankings, including Grinnell's men who are 30th. The other ranked men's teams are Nebraska Wesleyan at No. 18, Hamline at 26th and Luther at No. 35.

Nationally-ranked women's teams are Nebraska Wesleyan (14th), Carleton (16th), Wartburg (21st), Bethel (24th), St. Thomas (26th) and Luther (32nd).

"Grinnell College is once again pleased to host the NCAA Central Regional Championship Cross Country Meet," said Grinnell College men's cross country coach and meet director Will Freeman. "The Oakland Acres Golf Course has long been the home course for Grinnell, having been the site of six NCAA Regionals and two NCAA National Championships. This year's Central Regional looks to be exciting team battles for both men and women. We here at Grinnell give a big welcome to all athletes, coaches and families."

Following is a breakdown of the meet, both team-wise and individual, following the respective conference meets:

MEN'S RACE PREVIEW
TEAM
The number "13" was lucky for the Grinnell men's team, as the Pioneers claimed their 13th Midwest Conference title in a row in 2009. The Pioneers, ranked 32nd nationally entering the meet, easily out-distanced the field, beating runner-up Ripon 22-75.

Hamline edged St. Olaf for the team title in the MIAC, winning by a score of 61-66. St. Thomas, ranked 22nd nationally entering the meet, was third with 82 points, well ahead of fourth-place Augsburg's 97.

Luther had little trouble winning the Iowa Conference crown, scoring 28 points and beating runner-up Coe by 25 points. Cornell was third place, followed by Wartburg.

St. Scholastica won a close battle for the UMAC title, scoring 68 points to beat runner-up Martin Luther by seven. UM Morris was third with 78 points.

Nebraska Wesleyan is the lone GPAC entry in the regional, but is expected to make some noise after being ranked 20th earlier this month.

INDIVIDUAL
Grinnell's dominance at the Midwest Conference meet came by having the top three runners and four in the top five. Dan Krauss was the individual champ, followed by Noah DeLong and Alex Reich. David Montgomery placed fifth.

Dan Greeno of Bethel, last year's regional runner-up, was the runaway individual champ in the MIAC. He beat runner-up Ian Bauer of Hamline by 34 seconds. Ben Sathre of St. Thomas was a close third behind Bauer, while Jacob Marotz of St. Olaf and Wade Ekstrom of Macalester rounded out the top five.

Andrew Tobben of Cornell claimed the Iowa Conference title, beating runner-up Lane Moser of Coe by 10 seconds. Luther runners rounded out the top five in the form of Kyle Buck, Karl Larson and Drew Burmahl.

Daniel Bare of North Central was the UMAC individual champ, beating runner-up Nathan Loersch of Martin Luther by 11 seconds. Loren Milbrath of Martin Luther was third, followed by Nick Mangan of St. Scholastica and Matthew Behmer of Bethany Lutheran.

Logan Watley has been Nebraska Wesleyan's top runner this season. The GPAC meet was run after the printing deadline for this program.

WOMEN'S RACE PREVIEW
TEAM
After having its string of four consecutive Midwest Conference titles broken last year, Grinnell returned to the top of the league in 2009. The Pioneers scored 62 points to emerge from a tight field, beating runner-up Carroll which had 71. In all, three teams were within 12 points of Grinnell.

Wartburg, ranked 19th nationally entering the Iowa Conference meet, sailed to an easy victory by out-distancing runner-up Luther by a 39-56 count. Central was third, followed by Simpson and Loras.

The MIAC team race was close last year, but not in 2009 as Carleton walked away with the title with 65 points. Carleton was ranked 20th nationally entering the meet. Bethel, ranked 14th coming into meet, won a close race for second with 91 points, three ahead of 23rd-ranked St. Thomas and seven in front of St. Olaf.

St. Scholastica had little trouble in the UMAC meet, winning by a 31-74 score of UM Morris. Martin Luther placed third.

Nebraska Wesleyan is the only GPAC entry in the regional, but is expected to fare well after being ranked 16th nationally earlier this month.

INDIVIDUAL
A "pack attack" led the Pioneers to the Midwest Conference team title, with three runners finishing in the top 10. They were Leah Russell in sixth place, Hannah Colter in seventh and Maja Gamble in eighth.

Anna Kraayenbrink of Wartburg, last year's regional runner-up, won the Iowa Conference individual title by 10 seconds over Catie Ellingson of Simpson. Angie Berry of Central was third, followed by Wartburg's Jennifer Kuiken and Luther's Katie Dolan.

Marie Borner of Bethel, the defending NCAA Division III champion who was also last year's regional champ, easily won the MIAC crown. She beat runner-up Simone Childs-Walker of Carleton by 32 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Margo Branigan of Hamline, Greta Sieve of St. Catherine and Taylor ffitch of Carleton.

Linda Keller of UM Morris was the individual champ in the UMAC, beating runner-up Katelyn Metzger of St. Scholastica by 16 seconds. St. Scholastica's Jessie Lovering was third, followed by Catherine Mead and Michelle Hubbell, both of North Central.

Jackie Spelts, fifth at last year's NCAA national meet, has been Nebraska Wesleyan's top runner this season. The GPAC meet was run after the printing deadline for this program.

The Grinnell College women's cross country team is back on top in the Midwest Conference.

The Pioneers, who had won four league titles in a row before surrendering the crown last year, emerged victorious at the 2009 MWC Championships Saturday at Rock Cut State Park in Loves Park, Ill. It was Grinnell's 16th league title in the program's history.

The Pioneers scored 62 points, nine better than runner-up Carroll University and 11 better than third-place Monmouth College.

Grinnell's top runner was Leah Russell '11 (left), who finished sixth over the 6-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 48.46 seconds. She was followed closely by teammates Hannah Colter '12 (right) and Maja Gamble '11, who were seventh and eighth in 24:55.37 and 24:59.95, respectively. Rounding out Grinnell's scorers were Rachel Whitfield '10 and Sasha Dunbar' 13, who were 20th and 21st in 26:04.12 and 26:06.29, respectively. Russell, Colter, Gamble and Whitfield were all-conference performers.

"The course was slow, muddy and slippery, but we weren't after times," said Grinnell coach Evelyn Freeman, who was named conference coach of the year. "We were looking for places. It was a total team effort. Not only did we have four in the top 20, which made those runners all-conference, but we had six in the top 22. We're super-pleased with the effort. We knew we had to come together and be our best, and the team is very excited with the outcome."

Grinnell hosts an NCAA Regional Meet on Nov. 14 at Oakland Acres Golf Club.
Results

The Grinnell College men's cross country team will look to extend its Midwest Conference title streak, while the women's squad will attempt to start another.

Grinnell's men will seek their 13th MWC crown in a row Saturday at Rock Cut State Park in Loves Park, Ill. The Pioneers' chances of doing so are good considering they have the top four 8 kilometer times in the conference this year with David Krauss '12 (24:44), David Montgomery '10 (25:08), Noah DeLong '11 (25:18) and Alex Reich '11 (25:24).

"We have the top four times in the conference, all run at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh meet, and we didn't even run our 5 and 6 guys there (Shyam Deshspande '11 and Chris Wilson '11) due to illness," said Grinnell coach Will Freeman. "They would have been right up there, too."

Freeman's goals for the MWC meet are simple. "I think it's pretty clear we're the favorites," he said. "I don't know what the other schools have, though, so my goal is for the runners to have a positive attitude and have their best efforts of the year. Those are the only two things you can control. It should be an interesting race in terms of the individual title, too. We're healthy, so that's a plus."

Freeman added the MWC meet will also be a nice test before the Pioneers host an NCAA Regional Meet two weeks from Saturday.

Grinnell's women will look to move back atop the MWC after finishing third a year ago. Prior to that, they had won four league titles in a row.

Three Pioneers are ranked in the top 10 in the league at 6 kilometers, Hannah Colter '12 (fifth at 23:09), Maja Gamble '11 (eighth at 23:30) and Leah Russell '11 (ninth at 23:37).

"We know it's going to be a four-team race (for the title) between us, Carroll, Monmouth and St. Norbert," said Grinnell coach Evelyn Freeman. "We're excited about the prospects, because we know we have so much more that we haven't shown this year. We haven't had a meet where we've been able to run at full strength, and that's what we're shooting for this time around. One of the advantages we have is depth, so hopefully that will help carry us to success."

The women's race is slated for 11 a.m., followed by the men at noon.
MWC Championships Preview

Hannah Colter '12 (pictured) posted a 75th-place finish to lead the way for the Grinnell College women's cross country team at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invite on Saturday.

Colter ran the race in 23 minutes, 9.83 seconds as Grinnell finished 21st in the team standings with 565 points. Between the men's and women's races, 18 nationally-ranked teams competed in the event.

Following Colter were Maja Gamble '11 and Leah Russell '11, who were 93rd and 99th in 23:30.4 and 23:37.19, respectively. Rounding out Grinnell's scorers were Rachel Whitfield '10 (146th in 24:34.09) and Sasha Dunbar '13 (152nd in 24:38.5).

The nation's top-ranked squad, Calvin College, won the team title with 80 points. The individual champ was Ayla Mitchell of UW-Oshkosh, who finished in 20:28.52.

On the men's side, Dan Krauss '12 raced to a 12th-place finish to lead the way and David Montgomery '10 was 26th. They had times of 24:43.5 and 25:07.8, respectively, as Grinnell finished eighth in the team standings with 223 points.

Noah DeLong '11 and Alex Reich '11 also had strong finishes for the Pioneers, finishing 34th in 25:17.6 and 43rd in 25:23.2 respectively. Also scoring for the Pioneers was Mike Tylinski '12, who was 108th in 26:12.02.

The nation's top-ranked squad, North Central College, won the team title with 22 points. The individual champ was Dan Greeno of Bethel University, who finished in 24:15.6.

Grinnell's next competition is the Midwest Conference Championships, which is slated for Oct. 31 in Beloit, Wis.
Women's Results
Men's Results

Hannah Colter '12 (pictured) raced to a 33rd-place finish to lead the way for the Grinnell College women's cross country team at Saturday's highly-competitive Dan Huston Invitational hosted by Wartburg College.

Colter ran the 6 kilometer race in 24 minutes, 18 seconds. She was followed by Maja Gamble '11, who was 46th in 24:56, and Catherine Bisignano '12, 56th in 25:22. Rounding out Grinnell' scorers were Rachel Whitfield '10 (57th in 25:24) and Sachi Graber '12 (60th in 25:28).

As a team, Grinnell finished 10th place with 252 points. Wartburg won the meet with 39 points, 24 ahead of runner-up Wisconsin-La Crosse. Wartburg also had the individual champ in Anna Kraayenbrink, who ran 22:08.

The Pioneers are slated to compete in the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational next Saturday.
Women's Results

The Grinnell women's cross country team, paced by a 45th-place finish by Maja Gamble '11 (pictured), placed 13th as a team at the Brissman/Lundeen Invitational Friday afternoon at Credit Island Golf Course in Davenport.

Gamble ran the race, which actually measured nearly 600 meters short of 6000 meters, in 21 minutes, 36.8 seconds. She was followed closely by teammate Hannah Colter '12, who was 47th in 21:38.2.

Other Pioneer scorers were Annie Tempest '12 (70th in 22:05), Rachel Whitfield '10 (89th in 22:18.2) and Nora Colter '10 (91st in 22:19.6). Leah Russell '11 was actually the third Pioneer through the chute, but was inadvertently not counted in the results. She was approximately 50th place in a time of 21:46.

On the men's side, Grinnell placed fourth out of 26 teams. The Pioneers tallied 133 points and were just eight points out of third place. On top of that, Grinnell also beat the team that it finished behind at the Les Duke Invitational, Truman State. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was the champ with 25 points.

Grinnell got a solid one-two punch from Dan Krauss '12 and David Montgomery '10, who were 12th and 13th place, respectively. Krauss ran the race in 25:53.5 and Montgomery came across in 25:54.8.

Rounding out the Pioneers were Noah DeLong '11 (20th place in 26:07.4), Alex Reich '11 (53rd in 26:49.4), Shyam Deshpande '11 (57th in 26:51.9), Chris Wilson '11 (62nd in 26:56.9) and Grant Reed '13 (73rd in 27:12.9).

Grinnell has next weekend off before competing in the Wartburg Invitational on Oct. 10.

The Grinnell College women's cross country team, sparked by a 29th-place finish by Hannah Colter '12, finished eighth at its own Les Duke Invitational cross country meet Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course.

Colter (pictured) ran the 6-kilometer race in 24 minutes, 29 seconds. She was followed by Leah Russell '11, who was 34th in 24:51. Other Pioneer scorers were Rachel Whitfield '10 (45th in 25:18), Maja Gamble '11 (48th in 25:19) and Annie Tempest '12 (53rd in 25:40).

Grinnell finished with 209 points. Truman State won the team title with 44 points, 11 ahead of runner-up Bethel. Marie Borner of Bethel was the individual champ in 21:23.

On the men's side, Grinnell placed second in a 14-team field.

The Pioneers were sparked by a pair of top 10 finishes, as Dan Krauss '12 took third place and David Montgomery '10 was seventh place. Krauss ran the 8 kilometer race in 26:04 and Montgomery finished in 26:17.

Rounding out the Pioneers' scorers were Noah DeLong '11, who was 20th in 27:07, Alex Reich '11, 24th place in 27:27, and Shyam Deshpande '11, 33rd in 27:38.

Grinnell tallied 87 points and was outdone only by Truman State, which scored 49. The individual champ Dan Greeno of Bethel, who ran 25:17.

Both Grinnell teams have next weekend off before competing in the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 25.
Women's Result
Men's Results

Hannah Colter '12 raced to an 11th-place finish to lead the way for the Grinnell College women's cross country team at the Dutch Invitational in Pella on Saturday.

Colter (pictured) ran the 5 kilometer race in 20 minutes, 15 seconds. She was followed by Sachi Graber '12 (22nd in 20:28), Rachel Whitfield '10 (25th in 20:53), Maja Gamble '11 (27th in 20:55) and Annie Tempest '12 (28th in 20:56).

Angie Berry of Central won the race in 18:30. The Dutch were also the team champs with 25 points, well ahead of runner-up Simpson College's total of 58. Grinnell was fifth with 113 points.

The Pioneers host the Les Duke Invitational next Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course.
Results

The Pioneers, who won their 12th Midwest Conference title in a row last fall and qualified for the national meet, had a team GPA of 3.650. Both the Grinnell men's and women's squads won the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Awards for the 2008 season. A total of 103 men's teams and 156 women's squads received the honor.
Click here for women's release
Click here for men's release

Will and Evelyn Freeman, who have enjoyed an abundance of success as Grinnell College's cross country and track and field coaches, are featured in an article that appears in the January/February issue of Running Times magazine.

The article explains how the Freemans helped build the programs into conference and national contenders upon their arrival at the College in 1980, as well as thoughts on their roles as coaches and mentors to student-athletes.
To view the complete article

Becky Bessinger '09 (pictured) and Henry Reich '09 were recently named the Most Valuable Runners for the 2008 Grinnell College women's and men's cross country teams, respectively.

Other women winning awards were Elizabeth Jach '09 (Pioneer Award for outstanding performance, high quality of character and notable leadership), Leah Russell '11 (Most Improved Runner) and Sachi Graber '12 (Rookie Award).

Other awards on the men's side went to Sam Calisch '10 (Most Improved Runner) and Nick Sparr '09 (Purple Roo Award for outstanding performance, high quality of character and notable leadership).

Becky Bessinger '09 was the Grinnell College women's cross country team's top performer at the NCAA Central Region Meet Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course, as she ran the 6 kilomter race in 24:28.4 to finish 67th.

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).

Bethel's Marie Borner was the champ 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.

On the men's side, four Grinnell runners earned all-region status as the Pioneers finished fourth in the team standings. 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, who was 20th in the 8 kilometer race in 26:12. Others earning all-region honors for the Pioneers were Sam Calisch '10, who was 27th in 26:30, David Montgomery '10, who was 33rd in 26:39.9 and Noah DeLong '11, 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. 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. The GPAC meet was run after the printing deadline for this program.

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 women's cross country team placed four runners on the all-conference squad at Saturday's Midwest Conference Championships in Galesburg, Ill.

The all-conference performers were Leah Russell '11 (10th place in 24:16.09), Maja Gamble '11 (12th in 24:23.14), Sachi Graber '12 (13th in 24:25.30) and Hannah Colter '12 (18th in 24:33.65). Rounding out the top seven were Nora Colter '10 (22nd in 24:54.69), Catherine Bisignano '12 (29th in 25:20.37) and Becky Bessinger '09 (31st in 25:23.63).

Grinnell tied for third with St. Norbert College in the team standings with 75 points. Monmouth College won with 55 points and Carroll University placed second with 68.

Grinnell will host the NCAA Regional Meet on Nov. 15 at Oakland Acres Golf Course.
MWC Women's Results