Cross Country News Releases

Tobben becomes Cornell's first Iowa Conference champion in cross country

MOUNT VERNON - Junior cross country runner Andrew Tobben (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) and his Cornell College teammates raced into school history Saturday at the Iowa Conference Championships at Max Cross Country Course in Waverly.

Tobben captured the individual men's title, becoming Cornell's first ever IIAC cross country champion. Sophomores Ben Jacobs (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) and Chase Nowak (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain) also garnered all-conference recognition for the Rams, placing ninth and 12th, respectively.

The top-15 scoring runners were named all-conference. The men's program had only two previous all-IIAC runners since joining the league in 1997 - Tobben eighth in 2007 and Ean Caskey 13th in 2003.   

The Rams placed a school-best third in the team standings, a significant showing after taking seventh a year ago and having never finished higher than sixth in the IIAC. Cornell's five scorers totaled 84 points. Luther won its fourth straight league title with 28 points, followed by runner-up Coe with 53.    

"I am excited for our men's team," Cornell head coach Dan Schofer said. "We came into the championships with very high expectations and had some great things happen. Obviously, the biggest highlight was Andrew's win. We knew he would need a special performance to be a conference champion, and he delivered."

Tobben beat 145 competitors, covering the eight-kilometer course in 26 minutes, 28 seconds. He finished 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Lane Moser of Coe. It was Tobben's second victory and fifth top-five finish this season.

Tobben is the first Ram to claim a conference title in cross country since 1993, when Kelly Lear was crowned women's champion in the Midwest Conference. The last Cornell male runner to grab conference gold was Tony Every in 1990.

"It was a weird race, beginning at a very pedestrian pace," Schofer said. "The lead pack was just barely under 11 (minutes) flat at the two-mile mark before things started to get going. With the strong winds, nobody wanted the lead. A slower race doesn't necessarily suit Andrew's strengths, but he kept his cool and looked strong pulling away from the field."

Jacobs and Nowak both made big strides in their second IIAC meet. Jacobs finished in 26:58, climbing 37 places from a year ago. Nowak clocked in at 27:06, improving on his 31st-place showing in 2008.

"I am very proud of Ben and Chase," Schofer said. "They both improved through a full year's worth of hard work. Having three men in the top 15 in the same meet was great."

Cornell's final two scorers included sophomore Adam Rooyakkers (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly) in 28th (27:35) and senior Quin Purkey (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) in 44th (28:11). Sophomore Tommy LeForce (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) finished 50th in 28:28.

Coming up - The Rams compete at the NCAA Central Region Championships Saturday, Nov. 14 in Grinnell. The regional is a qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championships Nov. 21 in Cleveland, Ohio.   

The top two teams receive automatic bids to nationals with the top five schools eligible for qualification. Individual national berths are awarded to the top seven finishers not on a qualifying team.    

Iowa Conference Championships (Oct. 31, Max Cross Country Course, Waverly)
Final Men's Standings - 1. Luther 28, 2. Coe 53, 3. Cornell 84, 4. Wartburg 99, 5. Loras 133, 6. Central 136, 7. Simpson 178, 8. Buena Vista 265, 9. Dubuque 280.
Cornell Runners (8 kilometers) - 1. Andrew Tobben 26:28, 9. Ben Jacobs 26:58, 12. Chase Nowak 27:06, 28. Adam Rooyakkers 27:35, 44. Quin Purkey 28:11, 50. Tommy LeForce 28:28, 63. David Kuhlmann, 69. Jordan Stacey 28:57, 77. Kirkwood Donavin 29:18, 78. Matt Evans 29:19, 97. Jordan Kemme 30:14, 102. Chris Stadler 30:29, 114. Ben Swerdlow 31:14, 118. Andrew Jacobsmeyer 31:29.