The 2009 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Cross Country Championships were run on Saturday in Fremont, Nebraska, at the Valley View Golf Course. Midland Lutheran was the host of the event. With near perfect weather conditions the women's 5K race took place at 10:30 AM and the men's 8K race started at 11:15AM.

In the women's race the Nebraska Wesleyan women placed four runners in the top ten including individual champion Jackie Spelts. Spelts, a senior from Burwell, Nebraska, clocked a time of 17:53.85 as she helped lead the Prairie Wolves to their fourth league title in a row and eighth in the ten years of GPAC Cross Country. Nebraska Wesleyan scored 29 points in winning the title. Haley Sutter from Nebraska Wesleyan placed second with a time of 18:29.75. Concordia's Jenna Schwalenburg was third with a clocking of 18:32.88. Concordia placed second in the team competition. The Bulldogs scored 64 points on the day and placed five runners in the top 20. Morningside was third with 81 points paced by Erin Lynn Keitges who placed fourth.

On the men's side Concordia snapped a four year title run by Nebraska Wesleyan as the Bulldogs scored 26 points in claiming the league title. Seven Concordia runners placed in the top 15 in the meet. Zach Meineke, a senior from Denver, Colorado, repeated as the conference champion with a time of 24:43.61. His teammate David Goeglein placed second with a time of 24:59.65. The championship for the Bulldogs was their second in the history of the league with the other coming in 2004. Doane's Edwin Ronoh was third with a clocking of 25:18.46. Nebraska Wesleyan placed second in the team competition. The Prairie Wolves placed five runners in the top 20 paced by a fifth place finish by Logan Watley. Doane was third with 80 points.

Concordia and Morningside's women earned berths into the NAIA National Cross Country Championships as the top two NAIA finishers in the meet. Concordia and Doane's men earned berths on the men's side. The top seven individuals among the NAIA runners, not a qualifying team, will advance to the National Championships providing they finish in the top 20 overall. Official team and individual berths for the NAIA National Championships will be announced early in the next week.

The 2009 NAIA National Championships will be in Vancouver, Washington, on November 21.