Sept. 23, 2005

Record setting run for squads

DAVENPORT- Fast conditions and a flat course combined to help Central College's surging men's and women's cross country teams post a record-breaking evening at the Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invitational meet Friday.

Adam Wolf (junior, Corning) cracked Central's all-time top-10 runners list, finishing the 8,000-meter Credit Island course in 25:18 to place 20th in a field of 393 runners. That puts him seventh on Central's career charts and the time was 40 seconds faster than his previous best, established on the same course a year ago.  Josh Martsolf of Greenville (Ill.) was the men's collegiate winner in 24:43.

"Adam kind of struggled in the last mile," coach Jeff Bovee said. "But it's nice to run a time like that and still feel like you're capable of a lot better."

The Central men were eighth out of 33 teams while the Dutch women finished eighth in a 27-team field.  Every Central runner established a new career best.

"You couldn't ask for much better weather conditions," Bovee said. "It was about 65 with no wind and overcast skies and the ground was hard."

Bryan George (senior, Pella) continued his recent rise, finishing 40th in 25:43, 1:07 better than his career best.  Brett Jones (junior, Knoxville) was 76th in 26:26, T.J. Weiler (senior, Ankeny) was 79th in 26:30, Brett Dietrich (sophomore, Williamsburg) was 82nd in 26:34, Michael McLoughlin (senior, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS) was 84th in 26:37 and Joe Jefferson (junior, Decorah) was 85th in 26:41.     

Dietrich made the most dramatic progress, topping his previous career best by 1:52.  The Dutch had all seven runners finish in under 27 minutes after only three did so a year ago.  Yet Bovee wasn't completely satisfied.

"We had our goals set on getting after some of the teams that finished in front of us," he said. "We're happy to see the improvement the guys made but I know they want a lot more. They're still hungry."

But Bovee was impressed by George's race.
"Bryan made a big jump," he said.  "He really closed in the last 3,000 meters."
Perennial NCAA Division III contender Augustana (Ill.) topped the men's field with 59 points, while Wheaton (Ill.) had 94.  Grinnell was sixth with 152 points and Central was the top finisher among four Iowa Conference schools with 297 points.  Central was 10th in a 23-team Augustana field last year.

Rozendaal 13th for Dutch women- Rapid clockings were the rule in the women's race as well. Senior Jill Rozendaal (Grinnell, Lynnville-Sully HS) was 13th among collegiate runners and 16th overall in a 334-runner field, covering the 6,000-meter course in 22:28, 24 seconds better than her previous best established on the same course a year ago.

"Jill ran a real solid, consistent race," Bovee said. "But she's got a lot more left in her."
Freshman Nicki Thomas (Omaha, Neb., Millard North HS) was Central's second runner for the third straight outing, finishing 35th in 23:05, 1:24 better than her only previous 6,000-meter race.  Heidi Rathje (senior, Atkins, Benton HS) was 68th in 23:45, Mackenzie Lauman (senior, Shenandoah) was 72nd in 23:58, Jessica Clark (freshman, Port Byron, Ill., Riverdale HS) was 90th in 24:19, Hannah Anderson (freshman, Goodell, Garner-Hayfield HS) was 125th in 26:14 and Amanda Wood (senior, Pocahontas) was 134th in 25:30.

Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) was the team winner with 60 points, five better than the University of Chicago.  Grinnell was fifth with 168 points while Central had 278, best among four Iowa Conference schools.

"I was really pleased with the women," Bovee said. "We had a nice, rebounding effort after running too hard too early last week (at the St. Olaf Invitational).  We ran a more even pace and that's really what I was hoping for. We finished strong."

It's a young Central squad after losing four of last year's top seven to graduation, but the drop-off in performance is minimal.  Last year's team was fifth at Augustana.

"We're not too far away from where we were at this point last year," said Bovee, who is excited about the potential of both Central squads.

"The future is bright," he said.