Cross Country News Releases
Tobben places 24th in 177-man field at Central Region Championships
Ram review - Cornell sophomore Andrew Tobben (Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia) turned in his best time of the fall and earned all-region honors for the second consecutive year with a 24th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Central Region Men's Cross Country Championships Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Course in Grinnell.
Tobben, who returned to the Rams' lineup after missing the Iowa Conference Championships Nov. 1, completed the 8-kilometer course in 26 minutes, 23 seconds. He was the third-fastest finisher among all underclassmen in the 177-man field.
Last year, Tobben placed 35th to garner all-region accolades. The top 35 individual finishers are named all-region.
"Our men rebounded really well from a disappointing conference meet," Cornell head coach Dan Schofer said. "Having Andrew Tobben back was a huge boost in terms of our team morale in addition to his presence as a front runner. He moved up 11 spots from last year and equaled his best time despite very poor conditions."
The young Rams, who did not have a senior in their lineup, placed 17th out of 26 teams with 409 points. It marked the program's best regional finish since the Rams joined the IIAC in 1997. Cornell improved from 666 points (22nd place) in 2006 and 552 points (18th place) in 2007.
"We also moved up one spot in the conference by beating Central and we closed the gap significantly on Simpson (94 points) and Wartburg (19 points)," Schofer said.
Cornell's top four finishers were underclassmen, including three freshmen. Chase Nowak (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain) and Ben Jacobs (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) performed well in their first regional meets. Nowak finished 71st in 27:23 and Jacobs took 82nd in 27:36. Freshman Adam Rooyakkers (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly) was 113th, followed by junior Quin Purkey (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) in 119th, sophomore Kirkwood Donavin (Salt Lake City, Utah/West) 127th and junior Jordan Stacey (Chicago, Ill./Northside College Prep Academy) 143rd.
"Chase Nowak and Ben Jacobs were very tough Saturday and proved that they can be extremely successful at the college level," Schofer said. "They were the ninth and 11th fastest freshmen in the region, respectively.
"With no seniors and only two juniors on our roster, the future of our program is bright. Most importantly, the team unity, work ethic and competitive attitude of all of our runners are where it needs to be for us to be a successful program. Our runners know what it takes to get to the next level, and they are willing to do it. I'm looking forward to continuing our improvement during the track season."
Nebraska Wesleyan captured the team crown with 130 points, nine ahead of runner-up St. John's. David McKay, of Luther, took the individual title in a time of 25:29.
NCAA Division III Central Region Championships (Nov. 15, Oakland Acres Golf Course, Grinnell)
Final Men's Standings - 1. Nebraska Wesleyan 130, 2. St. John's 139, 3. St. Olaf 148, 4. Grinnell 167, 5. Loras 182, 6. St. Thomas 195, 7. Luther 202, 8. Bethel 202, 9. Hamline 211, 10. Carleton 249, 11. Coe 266, 12. Augsburg 299, 13. Simpson 315, 14. Gustavus Adolphus 338, 15. Macalester 371, 16. Wartburg 390, 17. Cornell 409, 18. Central 475, 19. Martin Luther 540, 20. Concordia-Moorhead 555, 21. St. Mary's 600, 22. St. Scholastica 707, 23. Minnesota-Morris 714, 24. Dubuque 757, 25. Crown 760, 26. Buena Vista 803.
Cornell Runners (8 kilometers) - 24. Andrew Tobben 26:23, 71. Chase Nowak 27:23, 82. Ben Jacobs 27:36, 113. Adam Rooyakkers 28:35, 119. Quin Purkey 28:47, 127. Kirkwood Donavin 29:03, 143, Jordan Stacey 29:38.