O'Brien, a senior, won the men's individual title at the 2013 Iowa Conference Cross Country Championships Nov. 2 at Pella. He won with a time of 24:46.8, using a strong kick in the final kilometer to overtake teammate and defending champion Eli Horton and win by a mere 3.5 seconds. O'Brien improved on his ninth-place finish from a year ago and captured his second all-conference honor. He became the sixth Dutch male runner to capture an IIAC individual cross country title, accounting for eight titles in all. (IIAC Male Athlete of the Week)
