2008 Woodie Awards
Women extend streak to five years; men's streak ends at seven
By: Leslie Gaber
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
As the favorites and four-time consecutive winners going into the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship (SCAC) Saturday, the women's cross country team had plenty to make them nervous.
Those nerves didn't stop the No. 13-ranked Tigers, though, as they captured their fifth consecutive SCAC title Saturday in Georgetown, Texas.
Sophomore Lauren Reich was the leading runner for the Tigers, finishing second overall in 22:39.65. Also contributing to the team's victory were sophomore Alison Case, senior Taylor Penrod and freshman Laura Ardington, who came in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Also placing in the top 10 for the women's team were junior Julie Theibert and sophomore Melissa Buckley.
By placing in the top 14, Reich, Case, Penrod, Ardington, Theibert and Buckley were all named to the women's 2007 All-SCAC team.
"It's nice to know that we have such a strong team and can put six girls in the top 10," Theibert said.
The team attributed much of its success in this race and throughout the season to the strategy of staying together on the course as much as possible.
"That's always our goal," said head coach Kori Stoffregen. "We run in packs or at least in pairs. We were able to do that in this race."
Emily Loeffler of Trinity University (Tx.) came in first place overall, with a time of 22:33.7. DePauw won the race with a low score of 29 points. Colorado College finished second and Trinity came in third.
The men's team came in second place with 63 points in the competition, 37 points behind Colorado College. It was the first time the men had lost the conference championship in seven years.
Senior Dusty Kime paced the team, finishing fourth overall in 26:01.80. Sophomore Zach Weinberg came in 10th for the Tigers, finishing in 26:37.00. Also contributing to the team's second place finish were junior Nathan Ellis, who came in 13th, and senior Kendal Gulbrandsen, who finished 15th. Alex Nichols of Colorado College won the race with a time of 25:36.05.
With their strong performances, Kime, Weinberg and Ellis were also named to the men's All-SCAC team for 2007.
For Kime, the second-place finish triggered some mixed emotions.
"It's bittersweet, especially as a senior," Kime said. "No one wants to lose a conference championship after winning it for seven years."
However, both Kime and Stoffregen emphasized that they had "exceeded expectations" by overcoming the obstacle of being such a young team with its second-place finish.
"The teams in front of us returned just about everybody. For us to finish second - that's a big deal," Stoffregen said. "We got really good racing from our upperclassmen ... Dusty is a leader for us."
Both teams will travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., for the Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 10.
Those nerves didn't stop the No. 13-ranked Tigers, though, as they captured their fifth consecutive SCAC title Saturday in Georgetown, Texas.
Sophomore Lauren Reich was the leading runner for the Tigers, finishing second overall in 22:39.65. Also contributing to the team's victory were sophomore Alison Case, senior Taylor Penrod and freshman Laura Ardington, who came in fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Also placing in the top 10 for the women's team were junior Julie Theibert and sophomore Melissa Buckley.
By placing in the top 14, Reich, Case, Penrod, Ardington, Theibert and Buckley were all named to the women's 2007 All-SCAC team.
"It's nice to know that we have such a strong team and can put six girls in the top 10," Theibert said.
The team attributed much of its success in this race and throughout the season to the strategy of staying together on the course as much as possible.
"That's always our goal," said head coach Kori Stoffregen. "We run in packs or at least in pairs. We were able to do that in this race."
Emily Loeffler of Trinity University (Tx.) came in first place overall, with a time of 22:33.7. DePauw won the race with a low score of 29 points. Colorado College finished second and Trinity came in third.
The men's team came in second place with 63 points in the competition, 37 points behind Colorado College. It was the first time the men had lost the conference championship in seven years.
Senior Dusty Kime paced the team, finishing fourth overall in 26:01.80. Sophomore Zach Weinberg came in 10th for the Tigers, finishing in 26:37.00. Also contributing to the team's second place finish were junior Nathan Ellis, who came in 13th, and senior Kendal Gulbrandsen, who finished 15th. Alex Nichols of Colorado College won the race with a time of 25:36.05.
With their strong performances, Kime, Weinberg and Ellis were also named to the men's All-SCAC team for 2007.
For Kime, the second-place finish triggered some mixed emotions.
"It's bittersweet, especially as a senior," Kime said. "No one wants to lose a conference championship after winning it for seven years."
However, both Kime and Stoffregen emphasized that they had "exceeded expectations" by overcoming the obstacle of being such a young team with its second-place finish.
"The teams in front of us returned just about everybody. For us to finish second - that's a big deal," Stoffregen said. "We got really good racing from our upperclassmen ... Dusty is a leader for us."
Both teams will travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., for the Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 10.
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