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By Chad Hensley, NKU Sports Information EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - With a fourth-place finish and 147 points in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional meet, Steve Kruse’s Northern Kentucky University men’s cross country team lived up to the high expectations it has faced all season and qualified for the NCAA Division II national finals, which will be held Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo. Zach Koehler, who has arguably been NKU’s best runner over the last month of the season, finished the 10-kilometer course in a time of 32:18.60 - which was good enough for 16th overall. Koehler, a team captain and junior from Union, Ky., was a mere 1.86 seconds away from being on the All-Great Lakes Region team. Ryne Smith and Drew Harris, the next two finishers for the Norse, have been bright spots on a roster that returned all but two of its top performers. Smith completed the course at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville in a time of 32:29.93, while Harris emerged from the field with a time of 32:43.07 - the times were good enough for a 20th-place finish for Smith and a 30th-place spot for Harris. Matthew Shoulta (34), Keith Knapp (47), Brad Bullock (76), and Adam Stoppelwerth (119) rounded out a Norse squad that is currently ranked 17th in the latest USTFCCCA and will be making a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II national finals. Grand Valley State (20 points), Wayne State (90), and Southern Indiana (134) are the other schools that will represent the Great Lakes Region in Joplin, Mo. GVSU dominated the field of 22 teams as the Lakers placed all seven runners in the top 15. Nate Peck was the individual winner with a time of 31:05.70 and finished over 21 seconds in front of his closest competitor - Paul Jellema of Southern Indiana (31:36.83).
The NKU women’s team will not be making the trip to nationals as a team but will be going to root for one of their own - Julianne Hoekzema. Hoekzema, a senior captain from Fairfield, Ohio, was one of only two runners who will make the trip to the nationals despite their team not qualifying – Indianapolis’s LeAnn Sarka is the other. Hoekzema’s time of 21:41.96 was good enough for an amazing fifth-place finish in the field of 153 runners in the six-kilometer event. She also became NKU’s first All-Great Lakes Region member since Tracy Carskadon in 2004. Jenna Siemer, whom Kruse will count on to lead the team next year, placed 27th with a time of 22:53.33. Siemer, Janice Laker (62), Alisha Hansman (80), Rose Morgan (81), Kira Cooper (94), and Chelsea Cantrell (132) all return next season and will look toward building on better the team’s eighth-place overall performance. Rachelle Malette of Wayne State improved on last year’s fourth place finish by winning Saturday’s race. Malette, a junior for the Warriors, had a time of 21:12.33 which was nearly 20 seconds better than Wisconsin-Parkside’s Jessica Lamp. Grand Valley State was the women’s overall winner. The Lakers won in almost as dominating fashion as their male counterparts, placing all seven runners in the top 15 despite not having a runner in the top five. GVSU’s 40 points were not challenged as Wayne State finished second with 117, Wisconsin-Parkside was third with 130, and Southern Indiana rounded out the teams that qualified for Nationals with a fourth place finish and 151 points. Both the men’s cross country squad and Hoekzema will have the upcoming weekend off to prepare for their trip to the NCAA Division II nationals, which will be hosted by Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo. Hoekzema will take to the course at 10:30 a.m. CST, while Koehler and the rest of the men’s team will begin their race at 11:30 a.m. CST. |
