October 31, 2009

WAVERLY, IOWA . . . The Luther men placed all seven runners in the top-15 and the Wartburg women placed our in the top-eight as they ran to team titles at the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Cross Country Championships at the Max Championship Cross Country Course in Waverly Saturday. Wartburg senior Anna Kraayenbrink and Cornell junior Andrew Tobben took home individual titles in 22:49 and 26:28, respectively, and earned Iowa Conference Most Valuable Performer honors.

Tobben is the first Cornell's MVP in men's cross country, while Kraayenbrink becomes the third Wartburg runner to earn MVP honors (Robyn Olson, Missy Buttry).

The Luther men used five top-10 performances to score 28 points and run away with their 31st men's title overall. Coe (53) and Cornell (84) posted their best-ever finishes at the IIAC Championships by placing second and third, respectively. The Kohawks bettered a third-place finish last season by inserting five runners in the top-16, while the Rams improved on a sixth-place finish from 2003 with three runners in the top-15. Wartburg was fourth with 99 points.

The Wartburg women placed four in in the top-8 for 39 points to defend their 2008 title ahead of Luther (56 points) and earn their 11th title overall. Central finished third with 73 points followed by Simpson in fourth with 87 points.

Individually, Tobben won by 10 seconds over Coe senior Lane Moser (26:38). A pack of Luther runners – Kyle Buck (26:43), Karl Larson (26:44), Drew Burmahl (26:47), and Shane Steele (26:48) – followed closely in third through sixth, respectively. Tobben, Moser, Buck, Burmahl, and Steele each earned All-IIAC honors for the second time, while Luther's Erik Johnson (10th, 27:00), is a three-time All-Conference selection.

Kraayenbrink, the 2008 IIAC runner-up, won the 6,000-meter women's race by 10 seconds over Simpson junior Catie Ellingson (22:59). Central's Angie Berry took third (23:12) just ahead of Wartburg's Jennifer Kuiken (23:15) and Luther's Katie Dolan (23:16) to round out the top five. Ellingson, Jennifer Kuiken, and Wartburg's Amanda Kuiken (7th, 23:24) each earned All-Iowa Conference honors for the third time, while Kraayenbrink, Berry, Dolan, Wartburg's Lori Tlach (8th, 23:35), and Simpson's Jess Christensen (11th, 23:47) each earned All-Iowa Conference honors for the second time.

Coaches of the Year: Luther men's coach Steve Pasche was named Iowa Conference Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive year after guiding the Norse to a fourth straight title, while Wartburg women's coach Steve Johnson was honored for the 11th time.

The top-15 scoring runners at the Iowa Conference Championships receive All-Conference recognition.

Complete results from the 2009 Iowa Conference Cross Country Championships are attached.

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