2008 Woodie Awards
Women head to nationals; Men send senior Dusty Kime
By: Leslie Gaber
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Because the members of the women's cross country team were SCAC champions, ranked No. 13 nationally and competing for a trip to the national championships, the team could have felt a lot of outside pressure to perform well at the Great Lakes Regionals in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Saturday.
However, as sophomore Lauren Reich pointed out, the runners felt more pressure from themselves.
This internal motivation led the Tigers to a third place finish, making the team eligible for the Div. III Championships next weekend.
The women's team finished with 80 points, behind only host Calvin College (46 points) and Case Western University (73 points). Prior to Saturday's race, Calvin was ranked No. 2 in the nation and Case Western stood at No. 7.
"For what we had going into it, I think we did our best," Reich said. "We were only seven points behind the No. 7 ranked team."
Reich was the leading runner for the Tigers, placing fifth overall with a time of 21:55.30. Senior Taylor Penrod finished 14th in 22:12.65, while freshman Laura Ardington came in 17th in 22:19.30.
Sophomore Alison Case finished in 20th in 22:24.75, and junior Julie Theibert placed 24th in 22:36.70. Case Western's Esther Erb won the meet with a time of 21:13.15.
Head coach Kori Stoffregen said he was pleased with the team's effort as a whole. He emphasized that a mere 41 seconds were all that separated the team's first runner (Reich) from its fifth runner (Theibert).
The Tigers are preparing for their fourth consecutive trip to nationals.
"We are going to go into it looking to place in the top 10 and get a couple of All-Americans out of it," Reich said.
Stoffregen had similar thoughts.
"This year, we're not just going to go and be happy that we're there," he said. "We really want to beat people."
On the men's side, DePauw finished sixth with 184 points and an average time of 25:55.54 in the 8-kilometer race. Host Calvin College was the winner, followed by Ohio Northern University, Anderson University, Heidelberg College and Mount Union College.
Jed Christiansen of Calvin College won the race in 24:51.95. Senior Dusty Kime paced the Tigers by finishing ninth overall in 25:14.15. Sophomore Zach Weinberg placed 34th in 25:55.10, junior Nathan Ellis placed 35th in 25:57.05 and freshman Nick Pucillo placed 48th in 26:08.25.Kime's ninth place finish secured him a spot to race as an individual at the Div. III Championships next weekend in Minnesota.
Even though the men's team missed going to nationals this season, Stoffregen said the team's sixth place finish Saturday was significant.
"It was a really good performance because we are mostly young and inexperienced [this season]," he said.
Stoffregen also pointed out that the 2007 team finished better at the Great Lakes Regionals than last year's team placed.
The Div. III Championships will be held next Saturday at St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minn.
However, as sophomore Lauren Reich pointed out, the runners felt more pressure from themselves.
This internal motivation led the Tigers to a third place finish, making the team eligible for the Div. III Championships next weekend.
The women's team finished with 80 points, behind only host Calvin College (46 points) and Case Western University (73 points). Prior to Saturday's race, Calvin was ranked No. 2 in the nation and Case Western stood at No. 7.
"For what we had going into it, I think we did our best," Reich said. "We were only seven points behind the No. 7 ranked team."
Reich was the leading runner for the Tigers, placing fifth overall with a time of 21:55.30. Senior Taylor Penrod finished 14th in 22:12.65, while freshman Laura Ardington came in 17th in 22:19.30.
Sophomore Alison Case finished in 20th in 22:24.75, and junior Julie Theibert placed 24th in 22:36.70. Case Western's Esther Erb won the meet with a time of 21:13.15.
Head coach Kori Stoffregen said he was pleased with the team's effort as a whole. He emphasized that a mere 41 seconds were all that separated the team's first runner (Reich) from its fifth runner (Theibert).
The Tigers are preparing for their fourth consecutive trip to nationals.
"We are going to go into it looking to place in the top 10 and get a couple of All-Americans out of it," Reich said.
Stoffregen had similar thoughts.
"This year, we're not just going to go and be happy that we're there," he said. "We really want to beat people."
On the men's side, DePauw finished sixth with 184 points and an average time of 25:55.54 in the 8-kilometer race. Host Calvin College was the winner, followed by Ohio Northern University, Anderson University, Heidelberg College and Mount Union College.
Jed Christiansen of Calvin College won the race in 24:51.95. Senior Dusty Kime paced the Tigers by finishing ninth overall in 25:14.15. Sophomore Zach Weinberg placed 34th in 25:55.10, junior Nathan Ellis placed 35th in 25:57.05 and freshman Nick Pucillo placed 48th in 26:08.25.Kime's ninth place finish secured him a spot to race as an individual at the Div. III Championships next weekend in Minnesota.
Even though the men's team missed going to nationals this season, Stoffregen said the team's sixth place finish Saturday was significant.
"It was a really good performance because we are mostly young and inexperienced [this season]," he said.
Stoffregen also pointed out that the 2007 team finished better at the Great Lakes Regionals than last year's team placed.
The Div. III Championships will be held next Saturday at St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minn.
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