Karissa Schweizer and Kassie Parker are two of the best distance athletes in Iowa history and, as such, deserve to share top billing after taking historic firsts last weekend.
Schweizer won her first USATF road title at the Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K in Indianapolis on Saturday, May 2 while Parker picked up her first win in the Professional Road Running Organization at the Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane, Washington, on Sunday, May 3. They lead off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and post collegiate distance runners and triathletes.
Schweizer, a two-time Olympian who competed for Dowling Catholic, won the 5K title in 14 minutes, 58.39 seconds to hold off Emma Grace Hurley, 29, of Zionsville, Indiana, by two seconds. Schweizer, 29, and a Nike Swoosh TC athlete pocketed $7,000 after pulling out a gap over Hurley over the final 600 meters.
“It went out really fast — I expected that,” Schweizer said in a USATF news release. “I felt really good coming off the final turn and just committed to the move.
“Had a blast at the 5K road champs this weekend,” Schweizer wrote on Instagram. “Really enjoying these road races lately, but I promise I’ll be back on the track soon.”
Schweizer secured a spot on Team USA for the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Denmark this September.
The six-time NCAA champion for Missouri had finished second in the 45th Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago on March 22. Schweizer ran the third-fastest 8K in American history at that event. She added a third-place finish at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom race in Washington, D.C., on April 12 that served as the USATF 10-mile championship.
Parker, 26, is a seven-time NCAA Division III champion for Loras College who became the first American woman to win at Bloomsday since Colleen De Reuck in 2002 and the first American-born winner since Spokane’s Kim Jones in 1997.
The former Clayton Ridge (Guttenberg) prep ran 39:21 over the 7.4-mile distance in the 50th running of the iconic race. Parker took the lead for good just after two miles while winning by 18 seconds over Rachael Rudel. Parker picked up a $12,000 payday while winning a $5,000 bonus as the American winner.
Parker’s 39:21 time is the fifth best by an American at Bloomsday while improving 1:29 over her debut at this race a year ago, when she took eighth place. That year, Veronica Loleo set a course record of 38:02.
“I did feel better prepared because I’ve started doing some marathon training,” said Parker, who plans to debut at the 26.2-mile distance at the California International Marathon in Sacramento this December. “It’s been a huge help in preparing for these other races.”
Parker is coming off a fourth place at the USATF Half Marathon Championships and a fifth at the USATF 10 Mile Championships earlier this year.
At the Indianapolis event May 2, 16-time Iowa state champion and 2016 Olympian Shelby Houlihan, 33, of Powder Springs, Georgia, ended up 15th in 15:51. Houlihan is a Sioux City East grad who won the 2014 NCAA 1,500 title with Arizona State.
In the men’s competition, Minnesota Distance Elite athlete Titus Winders, 26, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, placed 19th in 13:57. Drew Hunter was the national champion in 13:28.
In the IU Health 500 Festival Mini-Marathon half marathon event in Indianapolis, Running Wild Elite’s Steve Froeschle, 32, of Davenport placed 21st. The Davenport Assumption and St. Ambrose product ran 1:08:02.
Shifting to track and field and the American Rivers Conference meet in Pella, where two Iowa natives starred in the women’s distance events. Loras College redshirt freshman Keelee Leitzen won the 800 and 1,500 finals and anchored the Duhawks’ 4×800 to the title. The Dubuque Hempstead product fended off Wartburg College senior Haley Meyer in the 800 final while running 2:10.92. Meyer, a former Kee (Lansing) runner, posted a career-best 2:10.96 while taking second place.
Leitzen had run 2:17.50 in the prelims to win Heat 3 by .97 of a second over Wartburg freshman and former Mason City High competitor Janae Hansen. Meyer won Heat 2 of the prelims by 1.30 seconds in 2:16.39. Taking second in that heat and third in the final was Wartburg junior and former Liberty High grad Hannah Ramsey. Ramsey ran 2:14.28 in the final and 2:17.69 in the prelims.
Leitzen and Central College senior Peyton Steffen dueled for only time over the weekend at Central College in the 1,500. Leitzen again fought off a rival for the title, this time by .14 of a second in 4:30.04. Steffen is an ex-Marion athlete. Dutch freshman teammate Maddy Stevens, who prepped at Dallas Center-Grimes, was next to finish in 4:38.03. Central freshman Kyra Cordes, another Marion product, continued the Dutch scoring with a fifth in 4:38.30. Loras College sophomore Ivy Glendening, a former Southeast Polk prep, was the last scorer in eighth in 4:49.09.
Leitzen then anchored Loras to the 4×800 title in 9:07.28. Also on that unit was leadoff runner Savannah Davis, who ran for Mason City High, and Glendening. Accepting second was a Central squad that included Stevens on the third leg and Cordes on the anchor. The Dutch were timed in 9:09.86. Wartburg, on the way to the team championship with 268 points, was third in 9:20.60. That squad included Ramsey, Meyer, junior and ex-Iowa City High athlete Bella Skay and freshman and former Johnston athlete Marissa Pewe. The Knights finished in 9:20.60.
Steffen, the Central senior, highlighted a very good weekend with titles in the 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000. She won the steeplechase by 11.01 seconds in 10:45.60. Sophomore teammate and former Solon runner Anna Quillin was fourth in 11:20.74.
Steffen closed out the weekend with an easy victory in the 5,000. She topped Wartburg sophomore Lydia Maas by 15.29 seconds to power the Dutch to second in the team standings with 166 points. Maas prepped at Hampton-Dumont. Freshman teammate Claire Hoyer, who prepped at Dubuque Senior, took third in 18:09.81. Fourth was Central College junior and former Iowa Falls-Alden prep Teah Miller in 18:17.13. Stevens also scored for the Dutch while securing seventh in 18:22.86.
Wartburg sophomore Abbey Angus picked up third place in the 10,000 final while running 38:13.66. Angus ran for Dallas Center-Grimes. The winner was junior teammate Morgan Engel in 37:41.54.
The Wartburg men also won the team crown, albeit by a narrower margin, of 208-141 over Loras College. Leading the Knights in the distance events was senior and former Washington High competitor Lance Sobaski. He captured the 3,000 steeplechase crown in 8:47.13. Central College junior Jack Brown, an ex-Norwalk prep, ran 8:49.10 for second. Knights sophomore Aidan Decker, who prepped at Liberty High, settled for fourth in 9:16.97. Senior teammate Conner Sattler, in his last ARC meet, delivered an all-conference performance with fifth in 9:17.20. Sattler is a Clinton High product. Central College sophomore Donovan Card, another ex-Norwalk runner, took sixth in 9:17.32. Luther College sophomore and former Cedar Rapids Kennedy competitor Jacob Bruns was next to finish in 9:20.99.
Central College’s Brown bounced back to win the 1,500 title in 3:47.80. The reigning NCAA indoor mile champion topped Wartburg freshman and former Crestwood (Cresco) athlete Nathan Ahern by 1.87 seconds. Grabbing third for Simpson College was sophomore and former Marshalltown athlete James Johnson in 3:52.76. The next three finishers were Knights. Sophomore Andrew Smith (Glenwood), sophomore Clay Warson (Madrid) and junior Nathan Kinzer (Liberty High) ran 3:53.39, 3:53.88 and 3:54.94. Card scored points for the Dutch with a seventh in 3:55.63.
Simpson’s Johnson also scored eight points for the Storm with a runner-up finish in the 5,000. He ran 14:45.17 in a race won by Loras junior Isaac Bourne in 14:35.03. The Knights scored valuable points from third-place senior Ander Julian and sixth-place senior Seth Bailey, both ex-New London preps. Julian ran 14:46.70 while Bailey crossed the line in 14:56.98. Knights sophomore Ahmed Aldamak, who prepped at Cedar Falls, took seventh in 14:57.58. The final point scorer was Luther College sophomore and Cedar Rapids Kennedy grad Jacob Bruns in 15:01.49.
University of Dubuque junior Evan Robertson, a former Springville competitor, grabbed all-ARC honors for the first time. Robertson ran the 800 final in 1:53.78 for third place. Wartburg freshman Logan Rosas, a Mediapolis product, was next to finish in 1:54.37. Freshman teammate Gage Heyne, who prepped at English Valley (North English), secured fifth in 1:55.31. Simpson junior Ethan Haus grabbed sixth in 1:55.56. He is a former Collins-Maxwell runner. Next to finish was Wartburg junior and former New London prep Rylan Martin in 1:58.14. Wartburg junior Hutton Edney won the title by .01 of a second in 1:52.11.
Martin took second in Heat 1 of the prelims in 1:55.48. Haus was second in Heat 2 of the prelims in 1:55.84. Rosas secured the win in Heat 3 in 1:55.97, just .02 ahead of Heyne. Robertson grabbed second in Heat 4 in 1:54.91.
Wartburg’s 4×800 with Heyne anchoring picked up second in the final in 7:36.37. The unit included sophomore and former Dallas Center-Grimes athlete AJ Angus on leadoff, freshman and former Dunkerton runner Henry Peterson on the second leg and freshman and ex-Cedar Falls runner Connor Martin on the third leg. Luther’s third-place 4×800 with sophomore and former Waukee prep Jalen Taha on the first leg ran 7:44.76. Nebraska Wesleyan was the champion in 7:34.75.
The Wartburg women won their 26th ARC outdoor title since 1998. The Knights’ men’s team won its 14th ARC crown dating to 1998.
Moving to the CCAC Outdoors event in Joliet, Illinois, on May 1-2, where St. Ambrose University junior Dylan Grandon claimed a title in the 1,500. The ex-Johnston prep covered the 3 3/4 laps in 3:55.47 to win by .93 of a second.
Grandon also led the powerful Bees’ 4×800 relay to a victory. The squad that included sophomore and former Cedar Falls athlete Tyler Moody on the second leg won by 2.60 seconds after clocking a 7:53.28 time.
Grandon also picked up a third-place finish in the 800. Grandon took third in Section 4 in 1:52.20 and that held up for his top finish. Junior teammate Elijah House won the title in 1:51.75.Senior teammate and North Scott product Ross Willerth secured fourth place in the 10,000 in 32:08.55. Sophomore teammate and former Iowa City High prep Jack Degner took seventh in 33:49.32. The champion was timed in 32:02.92.
Olivet Nazarene won the team crown with 346 points, with the Bees comfortably in second with 207 points.
On the women’s side, St. Ambrose junior Kaitlyn Knoche was a two-time champion. The North Scott grad claimed victory in the 3,000 steeplechase in 10:56.42. That time gains Knoche the ‘A’ standard for NAIA nationals. She won the race by more than 20 seconds. Knoche finished her effort by taking the 5,000 crown in 17:37.29. Knoche won by a whopping 38 seconds.
Senior teammate Allison Hein found a spot in the top three after finishing the 10,000 in 39:21.06. Hein ran for Iowa City Regina. The winner was timed in 38:38.10.
The Bees’ 4×800 that included freshman Kaylee Mowen also took fifth in the 4×800 in 10:11.89. Mowen competed for Pleasant Valley. The top team was Governors State in 9:45.83.
Olivet Nazarene dominated with 239 points, well ahead of runner-up Viterbo (150.5) and St. Ambrose (146).
Shifting to the Heart of America Conference meet hosted by Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids May 1-2, where Mount Mercy junior Abby Knepper dominated the 3,000 steeplechase race. The Beckman (Dyersville) grad ran an NAIA ‘A’ standard time for nationals of 10:43.37 to win by 28 seconds. That is a new personal record for Knepper.
She also ran second on the Mustangs’ 4×800 relay that gained second place in 9:30.38. The unit also included freshman and former Cedar Rapids competitor Cora McArtor on the third leg and junior and former Cedar Rapids Prairie runner Catie Reittinger on the anchor. Benedictine (KS) was the winner in 9:23.04.
Reittinger also claimed fourth in the 800 final in 2:19.30 after also finishing fourth in Section 4.
Mustangs senior teammate Kalin Rotzoll picked up all-conference honors with a fourth place in the 10,000. The Clear Creek-Amana grad ran 37:38.48 in a race won in 36:50.82. Central Methodist won the title with 237.5 points.
William Penn junior Andrew Miller came through with two big performances in the men’s meet. The Pleasant Valley grad won the 3,000 steeplechase title in 9:13.51, a time that secures the ‘A’ standard for NAIA nationals. Miller won the title by 5.04 seconds. Junior teammate Carson Springer, who competed for Dallas Center-Grimes, gained his first all-conference honor with a fifth place in 9:43.41. Grand View University junior Matthew Bonner grabbed sixth in 9:47.51. He prepped at Des Moines Roosevelt.
Former Liberty High runner Noah Gregoire, now a freshman at Mount Mercy, claimed a title in his first Heart outdoors meet. Gregoire ran 31:02.55 edge Park’s Cayden Walker by .41 of a second.Penn’s Miller finished his weekend by grabbing fourth in the 5,000. He ran 15:11.18. Gregoire was two spots back in 15:11.90. The champion ran 15:07.59.
Grand View senior Nathan Limas again grabbed the NAIA ‘A’ standard with another all-conference honor in the 5,000 race walk. The Roland-Story product finished in 22:21.22 for second. The winner topped him by 26 seconds.
Mount Mercy freshman Jack Stamp also made a big splash with a sixth-place effort in the 1,500. The former Anamosa prep ran 4:00.68. Senior teammate Brady Cortez, who prepped at Cedar Rapids Prairie, claimed eighth in 4:01.07. The winner ran 3:53.67.
Former Anamosa athlete Seth Countryman, now a freshman at Mount Mercy, secured eighth in the 800. He ran 1:56.08 in an event won in 1:50.55.
The Mount Mercy 4×800 relay of Stamp, Countryman, Cortez and ex-East Buchanan runner Noah Valenzuela, a sophomore, took fifth in that event in 7:45.07. Park won in 7:37.65.
Benedictine of Kansas won the title with 147 points, 13 ahead of Central Methodist.
Shifting to nonconference meets and the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, California, on May 1, where six-time Iowa Central NJCAA champion Adva Cohen moved up in distance to the 5,000 to take fourth in Section 1. The Under Armor Dark Sky runner based in Flagstaff, Arizona, ran 15:29.11 in a race won in 15:20.12 by Iowa State freshman Betty Kipkore.
Iowa State redshirt senior Quinton Orr, a Humboldt grad, took fifth in Section 1 of the 3,000 steeplechase. Orr ran 8:39.59 in a race won by sophomore teammate Joash Ruto in 8:30.14.
Iowa State sophomore Allen Bonnessen picked up a win in Section 3 of the 5,000. The former Danville-New London prep set a new best of 14:07.84 while winning by 2.55 seconds.
Cyclone senior Bella Heikes produced a sixth-place finish in Section 2 of the 1,500. The ex-Johnston prep ran 4:22.75 in a race won in 4:17.22.
NOTE: This blog will be UPDATED.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Karissa Schweizer, Kassie Parker, Keelee Leitzen, Peyton Steffen, Dylan Grandon
Reporting by Lance Bergeson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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