The Wartburg College men started the season ranked No. 2 in the nation in NCAA Division III (by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association). The Knights showed their Division I competition at the Redbird Invitational in Normal, IL, why they own that lofty ranking. Wartburg topped Division I programs Illinois State, Southeast Missouri and Northern Iowa on the Weibring Golf Course Sept. 12 and leads off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.
The Knights scored 16 points, nearly a perfect score, to easily top the host Redbirds by 34 points. Taking the individual win in the 8K race was Wartburg senior Lance Sobaski in 24 minutes, 34.5 seconds. The former Washington High standout held off sophomore teammate Ayden Buchanan by .4 of a second. Sobaski earned his second college win, to go with a 5K triumph at Mount Mercy a year ago. Sobaski earned American Rivers Conference men’s cross country runner of the week honors.
Ankeny Centennial product Tyler Schermerhorn, a senior, kept the Knights dominance going with a third-place finish in 24:36.7. Junior teammate Isaiah Hammerand, who ran for Western Dubuque, was next in 24:38.5. Knights fifth-year senior Jack Kinzer, who prepped at Iowa City Liberty High, came in sixth in 24:49.4. Fellow senior and New London grad Seth Bailey was next in 24:49.7. Wartburg also had eighth-place Eli Larson finish in 24:51.1. Larson, a senior, competed for Center Point-Urbana. Five spots behind Larson was sophomore and former Mediapolis athlete Solomon Zaugg in 25:02.0. Senior teammate Ander Julian, who competed for New London, took 16th in 25:11.1. Sophomore teammate Aidan Decker picked up 19th in 25:22.4. Decker also ran for Liberty High. Another standout sophomore, Marion grad Cooper Cook, ran 25:23.1 for 20th. Wartburg senior Alex Horstman, who prepped at Cedar Falls, grabbed 21st in 25:24.1.
Northern Iowa scored its first finisher when sophomore Colin Lillie crossed the finish line in 25th place. The former Council Bluffs St. Albert athlete ran 25:37.4. Wartburg sophomore Andrew Smith, a Glenwood product, picked up 26th in 25:04.7. Senior teammate Conner Sattler, who ran for Clinton, came in 28th in 25:45.3. Running third for the Panthers was sophomore and former Washington High prep Micah Rees in 30th place in 25:47.6.
The Northern Iowa women fared better than the men, taking second in the team race with 45 points, 17 behind champion Illinois State. Leading the Panthers and finishing fifth overall was sophomore Leah Klapatauskas. The Dubuque Senior product completed the 6K course in 21:54.9. She was two spots ahead of redshirt senior and former Ankeny Centennial athlete Millie Hill, who ran 22:07.3. Northern Iowa true freshman Lindsey Sonderman, who prepped at Harlan Community, took eighth in 22:17.6. Fellow Iowan Meghan Wheatley was next in ninth in 22:25.0. The Panther sophomore competed for North Linn.
Leading the 21st-ranked Wartburg women was senior and former Kee (Lansing) prep Haley Meyer. Meyer took 10th in 22:28.0. Sophomore teammate Lydia Maas, who ran for Hampton-Dumont, came in 17th in 22:56.2. Senior teammate Karle Kramer, a Monticello grad, ran 22:58.3 for 18th. Northern Iowa sophomore Clare Wright was 21st in 23:04.8. Wright competed for Jesup. Freshman teammate Evie Henneberry, a Dubuque Hempstead product, ran 23:05.0 for 23rd. Wartburg freshman Claire Hoyer, who also ran for Hempstead, was two spots back in a new best time of 23:06.8. Another Knights freshman, Josee Simonson, ended up 28th in 23:10.9. Simonson competed for Cedar Falls. Panther junior Brooke O’Brien, yet another former Hempstead runner, was 29th in 23:11.2. Wartburg was third in the team race with 81 points. The overall winner was Illinois Wesleyan’s Adriana Crabtree in 21:32.3.
Will return to college cross country soon, but jumping to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo over the weekend. On the morning of Sunday, Sept. 14, former Iowa State great Edwin Kurgat picked up a seventh-place finish in the 10,000 meters for Kenya. The 2019 NCAA cross country champion who now competes for the Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky team ran 28:57.83 in a strategic race that was decided with a kick over the final 400 meters. The resident of Flagstaff, AZ, was the No. 2 Kenyan in a race won by France’s Jimmy Gressier in 28:55.77.”It wasn’t an easy race, but I’m thankful for the experience and the results. Every lap, every mile – it’s all part of the journey, and today’s experience only adds to the fire,” Kurgat wrote on Instagram.
In the men’s marathon on the morning of Sept. 15, former Drake Relays champion and Bulldog great Reed Fischer moved up over the second half of the race to claim 28th place. The Tinman Elite athlete competing for the United States ran 2:15:17. Fischer is now based in Boulder, CO. The winner was Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu in a thrilling comeback win over Germany’s Amanal Petros that was decided by a photo finish. Simbu ran 2:09:48, with Petros having the same time.
Former Iowa Central Community College and New Mexico great Adva Cohen set a new national record for Israel while missing qualifying for the 3,000 steeplechase final by one spot on Sept. 15. Cohen ran 9:19.90 to place sixth in heat 2. Cohen was just 1.87 seconds behind American Angelina Napoleon for the fifth qualifying spot in the heat. Cohen is an Under Armor Dark Sky squad athlete based in Flagstaff.
“A bit of a bittersweet feeling missing the final by just 1 spot, finishing 6th in my heat. BUT I’m so happy that I put myself out there and took the risk. Finally feeling confident and that I truly belong among the top in my field,” Cohen wrote on Instagram.
The 43rd Capital Pursuit 10-mile race was held at Easter Lake on Sept. 14 and despite warm conditions, former Loras College seven-time NCAA champion Kassie Parker posted the sixth-fastest time in race history. The Crown Running athlete who prepped at Clayton Ridge (Guttenberg) ran 59:00.39 to win by 2:13. Parker, 26, now resides in Waverly.
Taking second for Runablaze Iowa was 2014 Grandma’s Marathon champion Pasca Cheruiyot, 39, of Ankeny. Finishing third was former Wartburg ARC cross country champion Lexi Brown of the Fitness Sports Distance Project team. The Waverly resident, 24, who ran for New London finished in 1:02:02.58. Right behind Brown was former Newton High and Drake standout Casey McDermott, 36. McDermott is a Crown athlete. Taking fifth was Runablaze’s Flannery Cerbin-Bohach, 38, of Cresco in 1:03:37.75. Cerbin-Bohach ran for Luther College. Runablaze’s Melanie Hamilton, 30, and an Iowa City resident, clocked 1:04:06.17 for sixth. Placing seventh was Valley grad Lauren (Schulze) Wood of West Des Moines. The Runablaze athlete, 22, ran 1:05.21.78. Runablaze’s Susie Duke was the top masters athlete and eighth overall in 1:05:37.43. Duke, 45, resides in Searsboro. FSDP’s Ashley Bloomquist, who ran for Wartburg and prepped at Fairfield, was next in 1:06:12.82. Bloomquist, 24, lives in Waverly. The next female was professional triathlete Jess Smith, 43, of Clive rounded out the top 10 in 1:06:21.24.
In the men’s competition, former Iowa State All-American Gable Sieperda showed up to initially pace his Fitness Sports Distance Project teammate, Cody Baele, to a possible course record. But the warm weather stifled any chance for course records and, after falling off the record pace, Sieperda opted to race for the win and help his FSDP team in the team competition. The former Central Lyon-GLR athlete still ran the 14th-best time in race history, a 50:24.57, effort. Sieperda, 26, now resides in Ames.
Baele, 30, of Des Moines took second in 51:01.92. Runablaze’s Blake Whalen, the recent Drake Relays 10,000 champion on the track, took third and was the Runablaze leader in 52:21.20. Whalen, 30, of Des Moines is a Dubuque Senior grad and also ran for Iowa Central. Finishing fifth was Runablaze’s Austin O’Brien, 33, of Waukee in 52:34.57. O’Brien previously competed for Pleasant Valley and Central College. Former Iowa Central star Karim Achengli Benmouais, now with Runablaze, was next in 52:43.05. The 33-year-old resides in Urbandale. Runablaze’s Matt Lorenz, 26, of Cedar Rapids claimed seventh in 52:50.36. FSDP’s Trevor Albert, a former Grand View University and Eldon (Cardinal) athlete, took eighth in 52:55.07. Albert, 26, resides in Marion. Runablaze’s Garret Ehlers, a former Morningside College standout, ran 53:54.82 for ninth. Ehlers, 33, lives in Sioux City. Former BCLUW (Conrad) and Central College runner Caleb Silver, 24, of Oskaloosa took 10th in 54:15.00. Silver competes for Crown Running, which edged Runablaze and FSDP for the team competition. Former Center Point-Urbana prep Myles Bach, also with Crown Running, was next in 54:21.71. Bach now lives in Clinton, WI. Adam Bohach took a good shot at breaking the state masters record. The South Winneshiek grad and Luther College athlete from rural Cresco ran 55:29.04. Bohach, 41, competes for Runablaze. The second-best masters runner was Stacy Garrels, 49, of Indianola. Garrels ran 1:00:43.77.
Runablaze’s Don Agisha, 21, of Norwalk claimed the victory in the four-mile race that included one lap around Easter Lake. Agisha clocked 20:58.11 to top teammate Josh Evans, 29, of Ankeny. Evans, a former prep star at Linn-Mar (Marion), ran 21:16.32. Taking third was former Ankeny Centennial and Grand View University runner Ahren Davis of the FSDP squad in 21:54.22. Davis, 26, lives in Ankeny. Former Wartburg athlete Sam Pinkowski, now with Runablaze, was fourth in 22:57.90. Pinkowski, 27, lives in Des Moines. Nikki Borner, 39, of Indianola was sixth overall and the women’s champion in 23:34.19.
Shifting back to cross country. Simpson College sophomore James Johnson signaled that he could be a factor in the American Rivers Conference this fall. The former Marshalltown prep picked up a victory at the 63rd Les Duke Invitational hosted by Grinnell College on Sept. 13. Johnson ran 26:10.1 for 8K on a warm morning to top Crown Running athlete and former William Penn runner D’Artagnon Beaver by 6.8 seconds. Taking third was Central College junior and Norwalk grad Jack Brown in 26:21.7. The Dutch won the team title with 37 points, 17 ahead of Simpson, by placing all five of its runners in the top 15.
The next Dutch runner was Central junior and Gilbert product William Wadsley. Wadsley picked up fourth in 26:24.6. Simpson senior Cole Leggett, who ran for Urbandale, grabbed sixth place in 26:33.2. Crossing the finish line in ninth was Central junior and former Norwalk runner Donovan Card in 27:22.5. The leader for Clarke was junior and Anamosa grad Drew Pate in 27:25.3. Securing 11th place and leading William Penn was junior Andrew Miller, a former Pleasant Valley athlete. Miller ran 27:31.5. Central sophomore Jack Every, who ran for Dallas Center-Grimes, came across 13th in 27:41.9. Dutch sophomore Andrew Mahaffey was the final scorer for Central in 15th. The former ACGC (Guthrie Center) prep ran 27:44.5.
Central and Grinnell waged a good battle for the team title, with the young Dutch taking four of the first six positions to win with a 22 total, 11 better than the Pioneers. Central freshman and former Dallas Center-Grimes prep Maddy Stevens grabbed her first college cross country win with a 23:23.1 time over the 6K course. Stevens held off her freshman teammate, Brecklyn Petersen, by 2.6 seconds and was named ARC athlete of the week. Petersen is a Glenwood grad. Central’s freshman run continued with former Marion runner Kyra Cordes coming in fifth in 24:06.8 while junior teammate Teah Miller was next in 24:10.4. Miller competed for Iowa Falls-Alden. Central also landed freshman and former Vinton-Shellsburg prep Olivia Primrose in eighth in 24:39.8. Central freshman Brynn Wilson was the final scorer for the Dutch in 12th. The former Ballard (Huxley) athlete ran 25:08.0. Senior teammate Leah Bontrager was next in 25:18.1. Bontrager ran for Hillcrest Academy and is from Wellman. The third consecutive Dutch runner to finish was freshman Kira Barker in 25:18.8. Barker competed for Clear Creek-Amana.
The Dordt Sunflower Opener is generally produces fast times on the flat Dordt XC Course in Sioux Center, but 5K times were affected by the heat on Sept. 13. Boosting the Defender women to the team title with a nearly perfect 16 points was true freshman and former Unity Christian (Orange City) prep Addison Liston in second place. Liston ran 18:39.1 to trail only fellow freshman teammate Joy Koole by 6.5 seconds. Senior teammate Courtney Joiner captured seventh in 19:13.4. Joiner is also a Unity Christian grad. The top 10 was rounded out by Dordt freshman and former Boyden-Hull prep Elyse Zwart in 19:26.8.
The Dordt men also took the team victory in the 8K competition with 24 points, 22 better than Dakota State. Running sixth for the Defenders was sophomore and LeMars product Trace Obbink in 26:37.3. He was the No. 3 Dordt finisher. Dordt senior and former MOC-FV (Orange City) prep Sam May took 11th in 27:01.6. Former Dordt great Eric Steiger, now competing for the Fitness Sports Distance Project, took 13th in 27:19.8. Steiger lives in Sioux Center. Another former Defender, Jebadiah Merkle, was next in 27:22.8. Defender sophomore and former Dowling Catholic runner Brett Gifford rounded out the top 15 in 27:26.0. The winner was Logan Ferrari, competing unattached, in 25:26.4.
Moving outside of Iowa, former Pleasant Valley and University of Iowa star Max Murphy appears healthy and running well for North Carolina. The redshirt senior was the No. 2 Tar Heels runner and eighth overall on Sept. 12 as North Carolina finished second in the team race. Murphy ran 24:28.4 on the 8K Larry McAfee Course At McAlpine Park in Charlotte, NC. The winner was Charlotte’s Maddon Muhammad in 24:21.9.
Wapsie Valley (Fairbank) product Aidan Shannon served as the No. 6 runner for North Texas at the Texas A&M Invitational at the Watts Cross Country Course in College Station on Sept. 13. Shannon, a sophomore, ran 25:58.1 for 74th place. A&M’s Cooper Cawthra won in 23:29.9.
Kentucky true freshman Anthony Anania placed 192nd at the large Southern Showcase hosted by Jacksonville State University in Huntsville, AL, on Sept. 12. The former Norwalk star ran the 8K in 25:57.4. Kentucky was No. 2 in the team race with 131 points.
Johns Hopkins true freshman Ani Wedemeyer placed 43rd at the Virginia Invitational at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, VA, on Sept. 12. The former Pleasant Valley standout ran the 5K distance in 18:34.4. The NCAA Division III program was third in the team race with 77 points, trailing only Division I programs Virginia (19) and William & Mary (65).
Former North Scott athlete Ross Willerth grabbed a win at the Fighting Bee Invitational hosted by St. Ambrose at Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf on Sept. 13. Willerth, a Bees senior, ran 26:21.8 for the 8K distance. He won by 1:20. Taking fourth was fellow senior and former Iowa Falls-Alden prep Gavin Stalzer in 28:00.2.
An Iowan also won the women’s 6K race. St. Ambrose junior Kaitlyn Knoche, a North Scott grad, took the victory in 23:49.3. Teammate and senior Allison Hein, who ran for Iowa City Regina, was runner-up in 24:21.2. St. Ambrose also picked up third and fourth, with sophomore Lexi Minard taking fourth. The former Pleasant Valley athlete ran 24:34.5 as the Bees scored a perfect 15 points in the three-team competition.
At the Hamline Invitational in St. Paul, MN, on Sept. 12, Carleton College freshman Dashiell Coyier placed 16th for runner-up Carleton. The Waukee High product ran the 8K in 27:51.0. The winner was Augsburg’s Mohammed Bati in 25:19.0.
In the women’s 6K, three Iowans finished in the top 45. Carleton freshman Nina Peterson was the team’s No. 7 runner and 30th overall in 24:30.8. Sister Nicole Peterson, also a freshman, was four spots back and Carleton’s No. 8 runner in 24:48.6. Both are former Iowa City High preps. Hamline’s No. 3 runner was junior and Cedar Rapids Kennedy grad Anabel Bradley. Bradley took 43rd after running 25:09.8.
Finishing with the Ironman World Championships in Nice, France, on Sept. 14. Former Buena Vista University professor and athlete Matt Hanson picked up 31st-place finish in Ironman’s biggest event that gives out $125,000 to the winner. Hanson, who now resides in Castle Rock, Colorado, covered the 2.4-mile swim in the south of France in 51:26, the 112-mile bike in 5:08:20 and the marathon run in 2:34:49 for a total time of 8:39:33. Winning the title for the first time was Casper Stornes of Norway in 7:51:39.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Lance Sobaski, Leah Klapatauskas, Edwin Kurgat, Adva Cohen, Kassie Parker, Gable Sieperda, James Johnson, Maddy Stevens
Reporting by Lance Bergeson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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