Cross Country Runs at Iowa Conference Championship

The Buena Vista cross country teams each resumed their schedules on Saturday by taking the course for the Iowa Conference Championships, hosted by Luther College.

Freshman Holly Nuetzman was the top finisher for the women, crossing the finish line in 49^th in 26:51.  Fellow freshman Olivia Nelson was next with a season-best clocking of 31:07 with Emily Erickson also shaving nearly two minutes off her previous season-best.  Megan Long and Bridgett Hasche rounded out the line-up of scores for BVU, while Erin Laursen also competed.

As a team, the Beavers took ninth with Wartburg claiming the team title with 28 points – 17 better than runner-up Luther College.  The Norse’s Emma Spoon, however, captured the individual title in 22:34, crossing the finish line two seconds faster than Wartburg’s Emily Eimers.

Over on the men’s side, BVU’s Alex Lamp took 34^th overall (29 points) to lead the pack.  Jared Bruce was next in line for the Beavers, placing 41^st overall (34 points).  His time was nearly a minute and a half faster than last year’s Championship, while he finished 16 spots higher.  Freshman Aaron Roberts took 55^th (40 points) in a season-best time of 27:28, nearly 40 seconds faster than his previous best.  Ryan Marzen and Brian Christensen round out the point-scoring line-up for the Beavers with each also posting season-best times, while Dan Pearson and Ben Berberich shaved nearly two minutes each off their previous fastest clocking.

Overall, BVU took eighth with 206 points, which was 53 fewer than a year ago.  It’s also the lowest total since the team scored 162 and placed fifth back in 2006.

Loras (53 points) edged the host Norse by three points (56) to win the team title, while Coe, which finished seventh overall, landed the individual champion in Kyle Heineman with a time of 25:14.

 Both BVU teams will now run in the NCAA Regional Championships, scheduled for Saturday, November 12 in Waverly, Iowa by Wartburg College beginning at 11:00am.

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