RIPON, Wis. – The 2011 Midwest Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will take place on Saturday, October 29 at Ceresco Prairie in Ripon, Wis. Hosted by Ripon College the men will kick off the championships at 11:00 a.m. followed by the women a noon.
On the men’s side Grinnell aims for its 28th championship after winning its 14th straight last season while the St. Norbert women will defend its title after claiming its fifth championship in school history.
This season Monmouth’s Jon Welty holds the top 8k time in the conference and is followed by Kevin Meyer (Carroll), Sam Stevens (Lawrence), Jake Barr (Monmouth) and Kevin Box (Knox) to round out a diverse top-five. Stevens is the top returnee from last year’s championship as he finished third while Erik Figge (Grinnell) and Ben Tyler (Grinnell) also return after top-five finishes at the 2010 championships.
2009 individual champion Megan O’Grady (Carroll) ran the fastest 6k time this season while Stephanie Rouse (Grinnell), Mackenzie Weber (St. Norbert), Rachel Bowden (Monmouth) and Amanda Whipple(St. Norbert) round out the top regular season performers. Whipple and Bowden are the only top-five performers to return from last year’s championship as they finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Beloit finished the 2010 MWC Championships with an eighth place finish on the men’s side and will aim to improve in 2011. The Buccaneers Joseph Skurski has been the top runner for the Bucs this season as he tallied the fastest 8k time at the Olde English Classic, finishing the course in a time of 28:45.30. Jason Busack and Ethan Ley will also contend for Beloit as Busack has a season best time of 29:29.60 at the Forester Invitational while Ley notched a time of 29:50.40 at the Olde English Classic. On the women’s side the Bucs will look to contend for its first MWC Championship since the 1998 season. Karen Jones has been the top runner this season with a 6k time of 25:17.60 at the Wisconsin Private Schools Meet and Lauren Hall holds a top time of 25:33.20 this season, also at the Wisconsin Private Schools Meet.
Carroll’s men team improved a spot in 2010 with a sixth place finish and look to crack into the top five led by Kevin Meyer. Meyer finished the regular season with the second fastest mark in the conference when he covered the 8k course at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational in 25:54.30. Meyer is also the top returnee from a year ago as he finished 17th overall at the 2010 MWC Championships with a time of 26:28.03. Teammate Christopher Pynenberg holds the 11th fastest time in the MWC this season running a 26:43.00 at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational. The Pioneer women earned a top-3 finish last season and aim to knock off defending champion St. Norbert. Carroll brings back two top-20 finishers from a year ago to compliment 2009 individual champion Megan O’Grady. O’Grady owns the fastest 6k time this season when she covered the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational in 22:33.90. Marissa Mader (17th in 2010) and Eden Fraizier (20th in 2010) will aid O’Grady and give the Pioneers a chance for its first team championship since 2000.
Defending men’s champion Grinnell will run for its 15th championship when they head off on the 8k course in Ripon on Saturday morning. Despite losing Alexander Reich, the 2010 individual champion, the Pioneers return three other top-10 finishers. Franklin Candy holds the seventh fastest mark in the MWC this season with a 26:27.00 mark at the Les Duke Invitational and finished eighth at the 2010 championships. Erik Figge (4th in 2010) and Benjamin Tyler (5th in 2010) will join Nathan Kakazu who holds the 16th fastest time in the league with a 26:50.00 finish at the Les Duke Invitational. Since 2005 the Grinnell women have won four championships and will try to dethrone St. Norbert after a fourth place finish last season. The Pioneers will lean on Stephanie Rouse who holds the second fastest time in the league with a 22:39.00 finish at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational. Sarah Burnell is coming off a 15th place finish in 2010 and holds a 6k top time of 23:10.00 while Hannah Colter will try to crack the top-10 after a 13th place finish last season.
After back-to-back ninth place finishes the Illinois C. men look to make noise in the 2011 championships. The Blueboys are led by Brad Bloemer who holds the team’s top 8k time when he ran a 28:26.00 at the Illinois College Invitational and took a 27th place finish. Matthew Nall took a 30th place finish at the IC Invitational with a time of 28:38 followed by Michael Ruyle who finished the 8k course in 29:26.00, both top season times for each runner. Julia Wykoff returns to the Lady Blues at the championships after a sophomore campaign where she finished 30th at the 2010 event. Wykoff led Illinois C. this season with a 6k time of 24:29.00 at the Illinois C. Invitational that gave her a top-10 finish. Emma Hudspath had the second best 6k time of 26:15.00 while Ana Flores rounds out a strong core with a season-low time of 26:20.00.
Knox looks to improve on a seventh place finish in the 2010 men’s championship and award its first team or individual champion in school history. The Prairie Fire have a strong core this season as they have a pair of runners in the top-10 of the honor roll. Kevin Box holds the fifth fastest time in the MWC this season with a 26:25.00 at the Illinois C. Invitational while teammate Gabriel Moreno ran the course in 26:26.00 for the sixth fastest time in the league. Moreno is also the top returnee from a year ago as he finished in 30th place with a time of 27:08.47. The Prairie Fire women’s team has nowhere to go but up after a 10th place finish last season and will rely heavily on top runner Emma Swanson. Swanson carries the team’s top 6k time running a 24:58.00 at the Illinois College Invitational. Yael Cody will compliment Swanson after running a season-fast time of 26:55.00 at the IC Invitational while Jade Ivy holds a season best time of 27.24.00 6k time.
Lake Forest enters the 2011 championships looking to improve on a 10th place finish by the men and a sixth place finish by the women last season. On the men’s side Chris Wiatr holds the team’s fastest 8k time of the season with a 27:53.00 at the Falcon Invitational, which was good for 37th out of 132 runners. Kelsey Small has the second fastest 8k time when he finished the Spartan Invitational in 27:56.00. The Forester women’s team had a seventh place finish of 14 teams at the Forester Invitational and aim for a top-5 finish this season. Amanda Glasgow is the top returnee after finishing 44th at the 2010 championships and holds the team’s top time of 25:26.00 at the Spartan Invitational. Viktoria Baldacci strengthens a Lake Forest team with a season-best time of 26:19.00 at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational.
After finishing runner-up in 2010 the Lawrence Vikings will push for its first team championship since the 1985 season when they ran off three straight titles. Lawrence welcomes back one of the strongest cores among men’s teams with Sam Stevens and Curran Carlile. Both finished in the top 10 in the 2010 championship and each hold top-20 8k times in the MWC this season. Stevens is the top returning runner from last season after finishing third in 2010 with a time 25:48.34 and currently holds the third fastest 8k time in the league with a 26:02.29 at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational. Carlile has a season-best time of 26:51.60 (17th best) and finished seventh last season with a championship time of 25:58.77. Emily Muhs leads the Viking women as she holds the team’s best time of 23:53.22 at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational which is 17th best in the league. Joining Muhs on the women’s side is Anna Ratliff (25:36.18) and Margaret Mahaffa (25:45.86), who aim to improve the school’s seventh-place finish last season.
On the men’s side Monmouth is the only team other than Grinnell to have won a team title since the 1986 season when they were victorious in 1996 and 2006. The Fighting Scots finished fourth in 2010 and were only 14 points from runner-up Lawrence. The team boasts the top runner in the conference, Jon Welty, after he ran an 8k time of 25:38.70 at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, which is over 15 seconds faster than the second best time. Welty was also a 17th place finisher in 2010 and will have to replace runner-up Geoff Bird as the Fighting Scots top runner. Jake Barr (26:07.00) and Matt Gatlin (26:33.80) also hold top-10 times in the MWC this season and will be an integral part of the championship push for Monmouth. Rachel Bowden, Alyssa Edwards and Tori Beaty all had top-20 finishes last season for a Monmouth women’s team that finished runner-up to St. Norbert. Bowden enter the championships with the fourth fastest 6k time of 22:52.80 after finishing fifth overall at the 2010 championship. Beaty has the ninth fastest time (23:22.80) while Brittney Frazier holds the 11th best time (23:35.50) for the Fighting Scots.
The Ripon men’s team is coming off a third place finish at the 2010 championship and is in search of the school’s first ever championship. AJ Threw is the Red Hawks top runner in the 8k with a season-best time of 26:56.00 at the Falcon Invitational. Cory Zimmerman had another strong season after finishing 22nd at the 2010 championships and holds the team’s second best time of 27:26.00. Rob Waters rounds out the Red Hawks top-3 with his top time of 28:46.00 at the Falcon Invitational. The Ripon women aim to improve on its fifth place finish last season and return its top two runners from a season ago. Michelle Matter holds the eighth best time in the MWC this season when she ran a 23:22.00 at the Ripon Invitational while she will also try to improve her 21st place finish at last year’s championships. Gracie Winter finished 19th last season and hold the second best time 24:23.00 while Katie Williams holds the team’s third best 6k time of 25:37.00.
St. Norbert is fresh off a first place men’s finish at the Wisconsin Private Schools Meet and in search of its first men’s championship in school history. Hayden Hoffmann led the Green Knights with the top 8k time of 26:44.10 which ranks 12th in the MWC. Nathan Heppe will compliment Hoffmann as he nearly matched Hoffmann’s time at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational running a 26:47.20. Reigning women’s champion St. Norbert won its first title since the 2003 season and looks to be the first repeat winner since Grinnell won four straight championships from 2004-2007. Despite graduating 2010 individual champion Jenny Scherer the Green Knights still return a pair of top-10 finishers. Amanda Whipple finished fourth at the conference meet last season and holds the fifth fastest 6k time this season of 23:06.60 at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational. Mackenzie Weber has the third best time in the league with a 22:41.00 finish at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational while Kelsey Timm returns after a ninth place finish in 2010 with a season-best time of 23:17.50.
[Full PDF Release]
[Cross Country Championships Page]
[Men's Honor Roll]
[Women's Honor Roll]
[2011 Performers of the Week]
[Men's Championship History]
[Women's Championship History]
[Record Book]