Olivia Johnson, a freshman from Milford, Iowa, won the women's championship at the NAIA Region III Cross Country Meet this past weekend. The meet was hosted by USF and run at the Prairie Green Golf Course. Johnson finished the 5k race in 17:51 and qualified for the NAIA National Meet which will be held on Nov. 17 in Kenosha, Wis. Charity Miles, a freshman from Thedford, Neb., finished second, just two seconds in back of Johnson, with a time of 17:53. Like Johnson, Miles automatically qualifies for and will run at the national meet later this month.
The Red Raider women's team placed second overall with a total of 88 points, 18 points ahead of #12 Black Hills State with 106. Concordia, ranked 14th, won the team title with 62 points and automatically qualifies for the national meet. Both Northwestern, ranked 24th in the last poll, and Black Hills State will have to wait until Tuesday, Nov. 6 when the NAIA announces the at-large berths in the 28-team, national meet field.
Freshmen Sara Hess and Stephanie Powell placed 21st and 22nd with times personal bests of 19:23 and 19:26. Lori Wolf and Akacia Wentworth crossed the finish line in 19:58 and 20:01, both personal bests and good for 42nd and 43rd place. Breann Rozeboom placed 56th with a time of 20:19 while Ingrid Carlson finished 64th place with a time of 20:31.
The men's team finished in 10th place with a team score of 258. The Red Raiders were led by freshman Danny Owens with a time of 26:52. Senior Jon Woehl finished the 8K race in 55th place and time of 27:20 while Tyler Peekenschneider (57) and Jack Peterson (60) recorded times of 27:24 and 27:26.
