Championship season is just a step away for cross-country athletes nationwide. Runners prepare to surge to a new level of competition and performance, similar to athletes competing in traditional playoffs in other sports. Title racing brings excitement and pressure as athletes train to execute at their best. Coaches prepare their teams physically and mentally to handle the challenges that new courses and heightened stakes throw at their runners.
But first, the University of Northern Iowa men’s and women’s cross-country teams had one final tune-up race before the MVC Championships. On Friday, Oct 18., the Panthers traveled to Peoria, Illinois, to compete in the Bradley Pink Classic. With the conference championship on the horizon, UNI looks to build confidence from multiple personal records before tapering for the season’s most significant meet.
On a mid-October day in Illinois, sunny skies coupled with only a slight breeze made for above-average temperatures around 70 degrees. Nonetheless, the UNI men came ready for their 3:00 p.m. start time. The Panthers raced to a 16th-place finish amongst 29 teams, including many Power 5 and mid-major programs. The duo of Caleb Shumaker and Carson Owens again led the way for UNI, placing 18th and 54th overall. Shumaker was precisely one second away from tying his 8k school record, finishing in 24:16.9. Owens set a new personal best over the distance, covering the course in 24:38.7. Levi Hill was the third Panther to cross the finish line, also setting a personal record of 25:26.2 for 140th overall. Near Hill was freshman Jackson Bergman, who finished 165th in 25:36.0. Brady Griebel concluded Northern Iowa’s scorers by running 25:50.7 for 188th place. Josh Gormley followed suit by finishing 220th in a new personal best of 26:24.5. Drew Dombrosky and Micah Rees rounded out the Panthers squad with times of 26:52.2 and 27:33.4 to finish 245th and 255th, respectively.
North Dakota State University secured the men’s team crown with 139 points, narrowly beating the University of Kentucky. The Wildcats were hot on the Bison’s heels with 160 points. Collins Kiprop Kipngok captured the individual win for Kentucky, running 23:32.7. Kiprop Kipngok easily outpaced Jayde Rosslee of Bradley University, who finished second overall in 23:46.1.
The Northern Iowa women began their race at 3:45 p.m. as the sun continued to shine on the Newman Golf Course. The Panthers claimed 14th place out of 32 teams, many of which were also high-major universities and MVC opponents. Emma Hoins’s consistent racing continued as she led the way for UNI, covering 6k in 21:23.5 and placing 52nd overall. Cross-country newcomer Millie Hill ran a personal best of 21:30.7 to be the second Panther and 61st finisher to cross the line. Melody Ochana backed up Hill to place 72nd in 21:39.4. Eden Mueller was the fourth Panther under the 22-minute barrier, finishing 101st overall in 21:57.9. Senior Kate Crawford was the fifth and final scoring runner for UNI, completing her 6k season debut in 22:02.3 and placing 111th. Leah Klapatauskas and Brooke O’Brien provided a strong finish for the Panthers, both running personal records. Klapatauskas finished 135th in 22:16.6, and O’Brien took 152nd in 22:30.2.
Northwestern University ran away with the women’s team victory, scoring 44 points to best runner-up Loyola (Ill.) by a staggering 79 points. Ava Earl also took the individual win for the Wildcats, beating second-place runner Nadia Potgieter of Bradley 20:14.4 to 20:21.0.
It is almost that time of the year. Championship season is right around the corner for Northern Iowa cross-country. For the first time in eight years, UNI will host the MVC Championships on Friday, Nov 1. right here in Cedar Falls at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course. The women kick off the event at 10:30 a.m., and the men compete an hour later at 11:30 a.m. With one of the most competitive fields in MVC history, the Panthers look to make some noise at this highly anticipated meet.
