Athletes dream of performing in high-stakes circumstances. In situations where competition is steepest, you find the people who rise to the occasion, accepting the challenge and putting their best foot forward. On Friday, Sept. 27, the University of Northern Iowa men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri. A smaller school like UNI can often get overlooked at such a large and prestigious meet. However, the Panther men and women had exceptional showings at this event, culminating in solid team placements, school records and MVC Runner of the Week honors.
The UNI men kicked off an action-packed meet scheduled at 8 a.m. Partly cloudy skies synergized to create an overcast environment just before race time. Slight winds from the north filled the air, adding to the ambiance of a crucial race. Some would argue that an early start time would hinder runners’ energy levels and focus, but the Panthers proved they were ready to go from the starting gun.
Northern Iowa raced to a 31st-team finish amongst multiple nationally ranked teams. Caleb Shumaker was the first Panther to cross the finish line, placing 60th overall and covering the 8k distance in 24:15.9, a new UNI school record by almost five seconds. The previous record of 24:20 set in 2001 by Balazs Csillag has now fallen after 23 years. Carson Owens was not far behind Shumaker, placing 113th in 24:42.2. Owens was followed by freshman Jack Bergman, who ran a time of 25:28.4 to finish 203rd. 2023 Drake Relays 3200m Champion Chase Lauman made his eagerly-awaited comeback, returning from injury to suit up for his first race of the season. Lauman ran 25:44.7 to finish fourth for UNI and 237th overall. Brady Griebel rounded out the scoring runners for the Panthers, placing 266th in 26:10.6. He was closely trailed by Levi Hill, who ran 26:13.5 to finish 271st. Near Hill was Micah Rees, who raced to 273rd place in 26:15.9. UNI’s finishers concluded with sophomores Josh Gormley and Drew Dombrosky, who ran 26:47.1 and 27:00.0 to place 294th and 303rd, respectively.
Stanford University easily captured the men’s team title with a score of 31 points, a whopping 132 points fewer than runner-up Tennessee. Edward Bird of the Kentucky Wildcats narrowly edged past Leo Young of Stanford to take the individual win in 23:07.6.
The Northern Iowa women kicked off their race at 8:45 a.m., where the overcast and slightly windy conditions poured over from the men’s contest. Even amidst an early start time, the Panthers prevailed and brought arguably their best performance of the season. The women’s strong races resulted in a 14th-place team finish amidst multiple nationally ranked teams. UNI also barely fell to the University of Iowa, who finished 13th overall and just 26 points ahead of the Panthers. Emma Hoins led the way for the purple and gold, conquering the 6k distance in 21:11.3. Hoins placed 56th overall and was the top finisher from the Missouri Valley Conference. For her efforts, she was awarded MVC Runner of the Week from Sept. 22 – Sept. 28. Hoins was closely followed by Melody Ochana, who passed 24 runners in the final 1000 meters to place second for UNI and 75th overall in 21:24.6. Millie Hill accompanied Ochana for the majority of the race and finished 109th in 21:40.9. Eden Mueller worked her way through upwards of 100 runners throughout the competition to run 21:54.0 and place 131st. Freshman Leah Klapatauskas capped off UNI’s scoring runners, finishing 178th in 22:21.8. Klapatauskas was backed up by Brooke O’Brien, who ran 22:36.9 to place 202nd. Clare Wright finished in 22:56.6 on her way to placing 234th. Lauren Klein was not far behind, finishing 254th in 23:08.6. Kaylee Woolery capped things off for the Panthers, running 24:08.4 to place 303rd.
Stanford also won the women’s team title, scoring 44 points to top second-place Tennessee by 47 points in a much closer fashion than the men. Freshman standout Brenda Jepchirchir of Auburn University claimed the individual crown in 19:50.1, besting Zofia Dudek of Stanford by just over three seconds.
The Northern Iowa men and women conclude their regular season on Oct. 18 at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Illinois. The Panthers will then race the MVC Championships on Nov 1. at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course right here in Cedar Falls. We hope to see you all there.
