Dubuque, Iowa -- Given the muddy conditions at the Dubuque Soccer Complex it's hard to call the Wartburg cross country teams' performances "clean" sweeps ... but a sweep it was. The men's team was completely dominant with just 19 points -- possibly an all-time conference record but the lowest since at least 2002 -- some 39 points better than second-place Luther, while the women were a comfortable 23 points better than the second-place Norse. Wartburg's men's title was its second-straight. The women won the conference championship for the first time since 2014.
The Knights also had the top-two individual finishers.
Joe Freiburger, fourth a year ago, crossed first in the 8,000-meter men's race in a time of 26 minutes, 47.6 seconds. He was about 10 seconds faster than runner-up
Tom Altier of Luther (26:57.7).
Carina Collet won the women's title for the second-consecutive year. Because of snow and rain earlier in the week, both courses were altered and the women's race shortened to 5,000 meters. Collet's winning time of 19.18.7 was eight-seconds-and-change better than Loras's
Kassie Rosenbum.
Head coach
Ryan Chapman and assistant
Phil Spitzer were voted Coaching Staff of the Year on both the women's and men's sides. The women's award was Chapman's first, while the men's honor is his second-straight. Chapman and the Wartburg cross country community will host the NCAA Division III Central Region Cross Country Championships two weeks from today in Waverly.
The top-four women's teams today were Wartburg (36), Luther (59), Loras (65), and Nebraska Wesleyan (110). Top four in the men's race were Wartburg (19), Luther (58), Loras (103), and Central (108).
Wartburg went 1-3-4-5 in the men's competition.
Sam Pinkowski, the runner-up in the event last year, was third (27:00.1);
Morgan Shirley-Fairbairn was fourth (27:07.9); and
Dalton Martin was fifth (27:16.9). Earning all-conference means a finish in the top 15, which
Christopher Collet (Wartburg),
Nate Sanders (Central),
Caleb Appleton (Wartburg),
Matt Heinzman (Wartburg),
Ian Kelly (Luther),
Luke Guttormsman (Loras),
Drew Hoffman (Wartburg),
Dan Iselin (Luther),
Norbert Weijenberg (Nebraska Wesleyan), and
Jay Mixdorf (Wartburg) all accomplished.
The Knights took first and fifth in the women's race as
Aubrie Fisher turned in a fifth-place time of 20:15.0. Rosenbum (19:27.2) was followed by Loras teammate
Audrey Miller (19:56.6) in third place. Fourth place went to
Katalina Stai of Coe (20:03.2). The rest of the all-conference spots went to
Amelia Morrow (Luther),
Vera Lindhorst (Luther),
Ellie Beiermann (Nebraska Wesleyan),
Janelle Baeskens (Wartburg),
Cassidy Christopher (Wartburg),
Trinity Borland (Wartburg),
Riley Mayer (Wartburg),
Heather Hostager (Luther),
Kaylee Osterberger (Loras), and
Lauren Berg (Luther).
The central region championships began at 11:00 a.m. on Wartburg's Max Championship Cross Country Course on Saturday, November 16. The NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships will be run Saturday, November 23 in Louisville, Ky., with Spalding University and the Louisville Sports Commission as the hosts.
2019 Women's MVP, Carina Collet - Wartburg
2019 Women's All-Conference Team
2019 Women's Team Champions - Wartburg
2019 Men's MVP, Joe Freiburger - Wartburg
2019 Men's All-Conference Team
2019 Men's Team Champions - Wartburg
2019 Men's and Women's Coaching Staff of the Year - Wartburg
