October
29, 2005
CEDAR
RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Wartburg College swept the team
titles at the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC)
cross country Championships, and Simpson College senior Jen
Wendt and Wartburg senior Keith Solverson took
home individual titles at the Meet Saturday at Jones Park in
Cedar Rapids.
Wendt,
who has won four straight meets this year, is the first Simpson
runner since Sarah Cross in 1990 to win an IIAC title. She finished
the 6,000-meter race in 22:28. Solverson set the IIAC 8,000-meter
record with a 24:59 finish, knocking three seconds off the old
mark set last year by Wartburg’s Josh Moen. Both Wendt
and Solverson were named 2005 IIAC cross country Most Valuable
Runners.
Wendt
defeated three freshmen – Luther College’s Amber
Uhlenhake (22:32), Wartburg’s Nicole
Calabrese (22:36) and Luther’s Janet
Dobyns (22:52) – who finished 2-3-4. Wartburg
junior Jill Wagaman rounded out the top-5 with
a time of 23:00. The top-15 finishers are recognized as All-Conference.
In the women’s
team race, Wartburg, with 40 points, won its third IIAC title
in five years and ninth overall, tying Luther for most team
Championships. Two-time defending Champion Luther finished second
with 49 points followed by Central (110 points), Coe (128 points)
and Simpson (131 points).
Solverson
led a group of seven Wartburg runners in the top-15 and finished
34-seconds ahead of runner-up Adam Bohach,
a senior from Luther. Loras sophomore Ben Grant
(25:57), Central junior Adam Wolf (26:01) and
Wartburg freshman Tim McKenna (26:02) round
out the top-5. The top-15 finishers are recognized as All-Conference.
In the men’s
team race, Wartburg won its eighth straight IIAC title and 14th
overall with 33 points, defeating Luther by 17 points. Central
finished third with 85 points followed by Loras with 87 points.
Coach
of the Year: For the fourth time, Wartburg’s
Steve Johnson was named IIAC men’s and
women’s cross country Coach of the Year. It is the 11th
time he has been chosen women’s Coach of the Year and
the ninth time he has been men’s Coach of the Year (eighth
straight).
Complete
results: MEN/WOMEN
Cross
Country All-Conference Teams: MEN/WOMEN
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