Cross Country competes in final regular season meet
Section of the Concordia cross country practice course.
Photo: Leo Lopez
By Kai Olbrich
In its final tune-up before the Great Plains Athletic Conference meet, the Concordia cross country teams placed in the top half of a mostly non-conference field at the Blazing Tiger Invite at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska, on Saturday.
On what was a warm morning for the time of year, the Bulldogs had some serious change-ups in who scored points, especially on the men’s side.
Senior Trey Robertson led the men by placing 25th, with a season-best time of 25:44.6. Robertson was followed by senior Aidan Limback in 60th, sophomore Keith Siek in 62nd, sophomore Abram Chance in 94th, and freshman Nolan Engel in 98th to complete the Bulldogs’ scoring pack. Junior Vaughn Hendrickson and freshman Hector Bonilla rounded out the top seven, placing 99th and 109th respectively.
Robertson has led the Bulldogs at previous meets, and Hendrickson and Limback have both claimed the top runner spot for Concordia at meets this season, but it was the first time getting into the top seven for Engel and Bonilla. The men placed 12th as a team, beating out GPAC opponent Northwestern by just two points.
The women did one better by finishing 11th. The top three were all freshman: Hope Beck placed 41st, Rachel Prince 56th and Katie Johnsen was 58th. Sophomore Izzi Brumbaugh, freshman Amanda Smith, sophomore Ashley Robertson and senior Macee Ripke rounded out the top seven.
The Bulldogs will look to claim a conference title on Nov. 7 in Sioux Center, Iowa, as Dordt University hosts the GPAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships. The meet begins at 10:45 a.m.
