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Posted by
Corey Westra
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Wed, Nov 4, 2009
- [
Men's Cross Country
] - Viewed 606 times
 NWU Looks to Defend 2008 GPAC Cross Country Titles The 2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Cross Country Championships are this Saturday, November 7, in Fremont, Nebraska. The meet, hosted by Midland Lutheran College, will be run at the Valley View Golf Course with the women's 5K race starting at 10:30 AM and the men's 8K race to follow at 11:15 AM. All 13 GPAC schools will participate in the event which will feature approximately 100 runners per race.
Nebraska Wesleyan will look to defend their 2008 conference titles in both the women's and men's division. Last year the Prairie Wolf women scored 65 points in claiming the team title, with Concordia placing second with 89 points. On the men's side Nebraska Wesleyan totaled 38 points last fall and placed first ahead of second place Concordia who totaled 39 points. The 2008 GPAC Championships were hosted by Hastings College. A new individual champion will be crowned on the women's side this year as Dordt's Jen Kempers has graduated. Kempers won the women's race last year with a time of 17:51.85. 2008 Runner-up Jackie Spelts from Nebraska Wesleyan returns this year after posting a time of 18:19.89 last fall. Morningside's Kara Nelson, who placed third last year, is also back in the field this year and ran a time of 18:25.35 in the 2008 championship. On the men's side Zach Meineke from Concordia returns to defend his 2008 title. Last year he ran a time of 25:29.49 at Hastings. Luka Thor, also from Concordia, is back in the field after a second place finish last year with a time of 25:43.02. Thor won the 2006 GPAC Individual Championship.
The Nebraska Wesleyan women have won or tied for the league title seven times since the conference was formed in 2000. Concordia has won or shared three titles in that same time frame.
Nebraska Wesleyan's men have won eight of the last nine GPAC Championships since the league was formed in 2000. Concordia's men won the 2004 event. The top two teams from each race (excluding Nebraska Wesleyan who participates in NCAA DIII for postseason) will advance to the NAIA National Cross Country Championships in Vancouver, Washington on Saturday, November 21. The top seven individual runners outside those two teams will also advance, provided they place 20th or better in the meet. Complete results of the 2009 GPAC Cross Country Championship will be posted on the GPAC Website at http://www.gpacsports.com/ on Saturday afternoon. For the complete history of the GPAC and NIAC Cross Country Championships: |
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