Nov. 13, 2004

Central’s Cunningham gains NCAA berth

WAVERLY—Central College’s Beth Cunningham (senior, Davenport, Central HS) earned a national meet berth with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Central Region cross country meet Saturday.

Cunningham, Central’s first women’s national qualifier in 14 years, advances to the NCAA Division III championship meet next Saturday at Eau Claire, Wis.

The top four individual finishers at the regional meet not on a national team qualifier gained the national meet spots. Cunningham claimed the final individual berth, finishing the 6,000-meter course in 22:54. Defending Division III champion Missy Buttry of Wartburg won the regional crown in 20:17, l two minutes ahead of runner-up Leah Wurm of St. Benedict (Minn.) Buttry and fifth-place finisher Cassie Funk of Carleton (Minn.) both ran for schools that earned national team berths, allowing Cunningham to capture the final individual ticket to Eau Claire.

“After about 1.5 miles the pack spread out and Beth was sitting in sixth most of the way,” coach Jeff Bovee said. “We thought if she could hold on she’d be in good shape, and she did.

“She’s had a cold and wasn’t at her best, but she really went out and competed. If we can get her healthy over the next few days, I think she can be very competitive at the national meet. We’re just really excited about her becoming the first Central runner in a long time to go to nationals and what this means for our program.”

The Dutch women were 14th in a 22-team field while the Central men placed a strong 11th out of 22 teams. Central’s women were 18th last year while the men were 15th.

The last Central athlete to compete in the NCAA women’s meet was Teresa Newcomb in 1990. Newcomb also qualified in 1989, finishing 51st nationally in 1989 and 47th in 1990. Cunningham will be bidding to become Central’s first women’s cross country all-America honoree since 1981 when five Dutch runners earned the distinction as the team captured the NCAA Division III championship.

Rozendaal also among leaders—Central’s Jill Rozendaal (junior, Grinnell, Lynnville-Sully HS) was 11th (23:08) with Kari Hunerdosse (senior, Fairfield) 89th (25:10), Mackenzie Lauman (junior, Coin, Shenandoah HS) 104th (25:36), Megan Slater (senior, Essex) 117th (25:57) and Heidi Rathje (junior, Atkins) 127th (26:20).

“Jill Rozendaal had probably her race of the season,” Bovee said. “She had the best finish of any of the number two runners today and will be one of the top runners coming back in the region next year.”

Luther was the team winner with 96 points, easily outdistancing Wartburg’s 149. Carleton (Minn.) and Nebraska Wesleyan also gained national meet team berths. Central was third among Iowa Conference schools with 327 points with Loras 16th at 377.

Wolf leads men—The Central men made a significant jump over last year’s regional finish. Adam Wolf (sophomore, Corning) was 44th in 26:49 on the 8,000 meter course, 20 spots better than last season. Joe Jefferson (sophomore, Decorah) was 61st in 27:13, inches ahead of Bryan George (junior, Pella), who was 62nd in the same time. Jefferson’s time was only 11 seconds off his career best despite chilly conditions.T.J. Weiler (junior, Ankeny) was 77th (27:30), Brian Respeliers (sophomore, Council Bluffs, St. Albert HS) was 96th (27:57), Brett Dietrich (freshman, Williamsburg) was 109th (28:27) and Michael McLoughlin (junior, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS) was 111th (28:31). Dietrich was only a second aware from a personal best.

St. Olaf (Minn.) claimed the team title with 81 points, four ahead of Carleton (Minn.). Wartburg and Nebraska Wesleyan joined them as qualifiers for next week’s national meet. Loras was sixth at 154 and Central had 340 points with traditional Iowa Conference contender Luther 13th at 343. It’s the first time the Dutch have defeated Luther in an NCAA meet, fueling even more optimism for 2005 because Central has no seniors on its roster.

“Our goal was 12th and it was amazingly close,” Bovee said. “T.J. Weiler ran a super race desoute fighting through a knee injury. Brian Respeliers passed three people in the last 30 meters and that obviously made the difference.”