Mike Horrell '09 led the Grinnell College men's cross country team at Saturday's Lamb-Kohawk Invitational hosted by Coe College, placing eighth individually at the event.

Horrell (pictured) ran the 8 kilometer course at Jones Park in 27:31.11. Kyle Lynch-Klarup '10 was 13th in 27:52.93 and Ian McCallum-Cook '12 took 32nd in 29:09.19. Others in the top five for the Pioneers, which didn't have their top runners compete at the meet, were Kevin Cashman '10 (47th in 30:18.06) and Joseph Hiller '12 (48th in 30:21.54).

Grinnell was fifth in the team standings with 128 points. The champ was Coe College with 39 points and Walter Bolingo of Southwestern Community College was the individual winner in 25:36.43.

Grinnell's women placed second with 75 points and were out-distanced only by the University of Northern Iowa. Leading Grinnell was Becky Bessinger '09, who toured the 6 kilometer layout at Jones Park in 24:38.52. That was good for 11th place. She was followed by Leah Russell '11 (13th place in 24:53.95) and Hannah Colter '12 (14th place in 24:55.47).

Rounding out Grinnell's top five were Elizabeth Jach '09 (18th place in 25:20.38) and Maja Gamble '11 (19th place in 25:25.95). The individual champ was Caedryn Schrunk of Northern Iowa, who ran 21:54.16.

The Pioneers travel to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh next Saturday to compete in the Brooks Invitational.
Meet Results

The Grinnell College men's cross country team has jumped into the NCAA Division III rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers received a total of 53 voting points and hold down the 29th position. The top-ranked team is Cortland State, followed by North Central and Wisconsin-La Crosse.
National Rankings

The Grinnell College men's cross country team rose a spot to third in this week's NCAA Division III Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers had been tied for fourth. Hamline (Minn.) took over the top spot from Luther College and is followed by Nebraska Wesleyan, Grinnell, St. Thomas (Minn.) and St. Olaf (Minn.). Rounding out the top 10 are Bethel (Minn.), St. John's (Minn.), Coe, Luther and Loras.
Regional Rankings

The Grinnell College cross country teams got a chance to compete against some of the top teams in the nation Saturday, regardless of NCAA Division, and were up to the challenge when they ran at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

Grinnell's men finished 19th and were led by Henry Reich '09, who was 56th individually among runners. He ran the 8 kilometer race in 26:01. David Montgomery '10 was next in line, taking 79th place in 26:29, while Noah DeLong '11 was 123rd in 27:20. Rounding out the Pioneers' top seven were Sam Calisch '10 (128th in 27:24), Alex Reich '11 (129th in 27:25), Ethan Heppner '11 (134th in 27:29) and Nick Sparr (137th in 27:31). Grinnell finished with 515 points, 31 ahead of 20th-place Pepperdine.

The Pioneer women were 31st with 929 points. Nora Colter '10 led the pack by placing 177th individually, running the 6 kilometer race in 25:14 Elizabeth Jach '09 was 184th in 25:42 and Becky Bessinger '09 took 185th in 25:45. Rounding out the field for Grinnell were Lilah Melzer '11 (190th in 26:00), Leah Russell '11 (193rd in 26:05), Sachi Graber '11 (200th in 26:19) and Hannah Colter '11 (204th in 26:32). The Pioneers also had runners compete in Augustana College's Brissman-Lundeen Invitational on Saturday. Grinnell's men took 16th place and were paced by Paul Bellora '10, who finished 43rd in 27:07.4, and Ian McCallum-Cook '12, who took 77th in 28:06.4. The women were 18th place, as Annie Tempest '12 was the top runner. She placed 99th in 25:38.3.
Stanford Men's Results
Brissman-Lundeen Meet Results

The Grinnell College men's and women's cross country teams will get their fill of excellent competition this Saturday when they compete in the Stanford University Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

The men's field alone includes four nationally-ranked NCAA Division I teams, including the host Cardinal, who are 11th. Other ranked teams in the men's field are California (19th), Cal Poly (21st) and Arkansas (22nd). The hosts are also ranked in the women's field as they hold down the fourth spot nationally. There are also a number of regionally-ranked teams in the field at the D-I, D-II and D-III levels. Grinnell's men are among them, plus also hold down the No. 32 spot nationally in D-III.

The Pioneer men are coming off a strong performance at the Les Duke Invitational, finishing fourth out of a 26-team field. The team was led by Midwest Conference Performer of the Week Henry Reich '09, who finished 11th with a time of 26:54. Other notable finishers were David Montgomery's '10 25th-place finish in 27:18 and Dan Krauss's '12 37th-place finish in a time of 27:42.

The women finished 19th out of 24 teams. They were paced by Catherine Bisignano '12, who finished 79th in a time of 25:29. Fellow first-year Sachi Graber '12 was the next Pioneer through the chute with an 82nd-place finish.

The Pioneers' second units will also be in action Saturday, participating in the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College.

The Grinnell College men's cross country team has jumped into the NCAA Division III rankings compiled by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Pioneers received a total of 30 voting points and hold down the 32nd position. The top-ranked team is Cortland State, followed by Calvin and Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Grinnell's varsity travels to Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend to compete in the Stanford University Invitational.
National Rankings

The Grinnell College men's cross country team is tied for fourth in the NCAA Division III Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Luther College took over the top spot from Nebraska Wesleyan, which dipped to third. Hamline (Minn.) is second and St. Olaf (Minn.) is tied with Grinnell for fourth. Rounding out the top 10 are St. John's (Minn.) in sixth, followed by Bethel (Minn.), St. Thomas (Minn.), Loras and Wartburg.
Regional Rankings

Grinnell College's Henry Reich '12 has been named the Midwest Conference Men's Cross Country Performer of the Week.

Reich, from Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS), finished 11th out of 361 runners to lead Grinnell to a strong finish at the Pioneers' own Les Duke Invitational last Saturday. He had a time of 26:54 over the 8 kilometer course. The Pioneers finished fourth in the 31-team field and were just 24 points out of first place. Jenny Scherer of St. Norbert College was the MWC Women's Performer of the Week.

The Grinnell College men's cross country team made a strong showing at its own Les Duke Invitational Saturday morning, placing fourth among a field of 31 teams and beating a pair of nationally-ranked squads.

Henry Reich '09 (left) led the Pioneers, placing 11th on the 8 kilometer course at Oakland Acres Golf Club. He had a time of 26:54. Next in line for Grinnell was David Montgomery '10 (right), who was 25th in 27:18. Rounding out the Pioneers' top seven were Dan Krauss '12 (37th in 27:42), Ethan Heppner '11 (40th in 27:49), Noah DeLong '11 (41st in 27:49), Chris Wilson '11 (42nd in 27:50) and Sam Calisch '10 (43rd in 27:50).

Grinnell finished with 154 points and was just 10 behind third-place Hamline and 24 out of first. Iowa Central Community College won the tight team race with 130 points, seven in front of runner-up and No. 24 ranked Washington University. Grinnell finished ahead of both St. Olaf and Bethel, who are ranked 25th and 35th, respectively. The individual champ was Iowa Central's Stephen Dak, who had a time of 25:34.

On the women's side for Grinnell, Catherine Bisignano '12 finished 79th to lead the way. She toured the 6 kilometer course in 25 minutes, 29 seconds. Next in line for the hosts was Sachi Graber '12, who was 82nd in 25:34. Rounding the Pioneers' top seven were Maja Gamble '11 (88th in 25:41), Elizabeth Jach '09 (96th in 25:49), Leah Russell '11 (104th in 25:59), Hannah Colter '12 (108th in 26:04) and Nora Colter '10 (124th in 26:36).

Grinnell was 19th in the team standing with 449 points. Wartburg was the champ, beating runner-up Carleton by a 104-141 margin. The individual champ was Marie Borner of Bethel, who finished in 22:08.

The Pioneers' next action Saturday, Sept. 27, when the varsity teams travel to California for the Stanford Invitational and the junior varsity heads to the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College.
Les Duke Invitational Men's Results
Les Duke Photos

The Grinnell College men's cross country team remained fifth in the Central Region rankings released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Nebraska Wesleyan continues to hold down the top spot in the Central Region and is followed by Luther, St. Olaf, Bethel and Grinnell. Rounding out the top 10 are St. Thomas (Minn.), St. John's (Minn.), Wartburg, Hamline and Coe.
Central Region Rankings

The Grinnell College cross country teams both had strong starts to their 2008 campaigns, as each finished third in their respective divisions at the Bob Timmons Classic hosted by the University of Kansas on a hot Saturday.

The Pioneer men had 94 points to finish behind the host school and Butler County Community College (the Kansas alumni team also competed but does not officially count).

Henry Reich '09 (pictured) led the Pioneers with an eighth-place finish in 26:23.1 over the 8 kilometer course. Next in line for the Pioneers were David Montgomery '10 and Nick Sparr '09, who were 17th and 18th in 27:12.8 and 27:15.8, respectively. Dan Krauss '12 was 22nd in 27:24.9 and Sam Calisch '10 placed 24th in 27:27.1.

On the women's side, Elizabeth Jach '09 led the way with a 20th-place finish on the 5 kilometer course. Her time was 21:07.6. She was followed by Catherine Bisignano '12 (22nd in 21:12.2), Rachel Whitfield (26th in 21:21.5), Sarah Casson (30th in 21:34.3) and Becky Bessinger (35th in 21:40.8).

Grinnell tallied 96 points in the team standings. Kansas won the team crown and Butler County Community College was second.

The Pioneers host the annual Les Duke Invitational Sept. 13 at Oakland Acres Golf Course.
Bob Timmons Men's Meet Results
Bob Timmons Photos

With many of its top runners returning, the Grinnell College men's cross country team is seeking another big season in 2008.

The Pioneers, who claimed their 11th consecutive Midwest Conference title last fall, return six runners from that team who earned all-league honors. Henry Reich '10 placed seventh to lead the pack, while other all-conference returnees include David Montgomery '10 (eighth place), Noah DeLong '11 (11th), Ethan Heppner '11 (14th), Sam Calisch '10 (15th) and Mike Horrell '09 (19th). The conference title was Grinnell's 24th in program history, which passed Carleton for best of any school.

Coach Will Freeman expects other returnees to be key contributors, including Drake Ballew '09, the 2006 conference champion who was off last year due to injury. Others in the mix will be Nick Sparr '09, who is coming off a strong track season, and Chris Wilson '11, also considered a very solid runner by the coach. "Calisch, Montgomery, Sparr and Reich all trained together this summer," said Freeman. "They are likely four of the top five and are very fit."

First-years whom Freeman said may contribute are Joe Hiller, Dan Krauss, Griffin Smith, Marcus Zeitz and the McCallum-Cook twins, Colin and Ian.

Freeman said a highlight for the Pioneers will be the chance to host two meets this season, the annual Les Duke Invitational on Sept. 13 as well as the NCAA Division III Regional Meet on Nov. 15. Both will be at Oakland Acres Golf Club. "We're expecting a strong alumni presence at the Les Duke as we're having a reunion of former runners that weekend," said Freeman.

There were 99 NCAA Division III men's teams to earn the award and 141 women's squads. For a team to be considered for the award, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet and earned a minimum 3.10 team cumulative grade point average.

Distance running legend Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic marathon champion, spoke to a captive audience of 200-plus during a presentation at Darby Gymnasium on the campus of Grinnell College last weekend.

Shorter's appearance was held in conjunction with the annual National Distance Running Summit hosted by the college. Besides his presentation at Darby, Shorter also spoke during a Summit session and met one-on-one for an interview with Grinnell College Sports Information Director Ted Schultz.

Shorter not only discussed his Olympic victory, but his near repeat win in the 1976 Games. However, he finished second that year to virtual unknown Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany. Cierpinski's win has come under heavy scrutiny, though, due to alleged drug use by him and much of the East German Olympic team.

Since then, Shorter has been a major advocate in the battle against the use of performance-enhancing methods that tilt the playing field. In 2000, he became the first-ever chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. That independent agency replaced the United States Olympic Committee's program.

"Because of that agency, bad people were replaced by people without conflicts of interest," Shorter explained. "It's getting to the point where the good guys are taking over. I think the paradigm has shifted in favor of the clean athletes. We're getting to the point where the clean athletes know that even if someone is doing drugs, they'll probably get caught."

Shorter's presentation at Darby was titled "The State of Distance Running in the United States." Things went downhill in the 1970s, said Shorter, but are now on the upswing. "Looking at American distance running, it started going down around the time of the 1976 Olympics," said Shorter. "The East Germans won more medals than any other country in those Olympics and you can answer your own question as to why. You can't take the drugs out of the history. My theme here is working through the denial. Many times with denial, you're well-meaning but feel you have no control of what's going on so it's better to pretend it's not there. By 1984 the men were already off the map (in terms of distance running) and the women were close in terms of the size of talent pool. But again, in looking for a reason, you have to factor in the 800-pound gorilla who's in the game."

But the growing disparity wasn't simply of physical nature. "There's the psychological effect of clean people lining up against people they knew were cheating," said Shorter. "How does that impact you in your race and when you're on the track doing your intervals? Do you really believe you can beat the guy you know is on drugs?"

But as performance-enhancing methods such as drugs and doping are being eliminated from the equation, the playing field is becoming more balanced, said Shorter. "I think it's coming around," Shorter said of the Americans' quest to return to elite status. "We're showing there's hope when you have someone like Ryan Hall not only winning the Olympic marathon trials, but running 2:09:02 on a tough course. People are actually looking at that performance and thinking he has a chance. I think it's becoming more apparent that the playing field is going back to level, and because of that Americans will do better."

On a side note, Shorter touched on his relationship with distance running legend Steve Prefontaine, who was killed in an auto accident in 1975. Two movies were made on Prefontaine's life, helping launch him to the status of icon. "Steve and I were actually very good friends," said Shorter, one of the last people to see Prefontaine alive. "We were also complimentary training partners. That's what American distance running needs, a return to the time when athletes chose with whom they wanted to train. It wasn't the agents, coaches or shoe companies deciding. The best talent has to get together to train without agents worrying their man might somehow give up some advantage by doing so."

Shorter added that he is known by younger running enthusiasts partly because of the Prefontaine movies. "Kids will come up and just look at me," said Shorter. "So I head them off at the pass and say, 'You want to talk about Steve, right?' And that's often what they want."

Charlie Knuth '08 and David Montgomery '10 both earned all-region honors for the Grinnell College men's cross country team at Saturday's NCAA Division III Central Region event in Northfield, Minn.

Knuth placed 32nd in the 8 kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 18 seconds, while Montgomery was 34th in 26:19. The top 35 individuals are all-region.

Rounding out the Pioneers' lineup were Noah DeLong '11 (49th in 26:36), Henry Reich '09 (58th in 26:48), Sam Calisch '10 (64th in 26:55), Ethan Heppner '11 (69th in 27:03) and David Krist '08 (73rd in 27:12).

The Pioneers were ninth in the team standings with 237 points. Nebraska Wesleyan and Luther were first and second to earn the automatic spots in the national meet. At-large team qualifiers will likely be picked from the region, too, but only top five finishers are considered. The top seven individuals in a region not on qualifying teams also make the national meet.
NCAA Central Region men's results

It was a clean sweep for the Grinnell College cross country teams at the Midwest Conference Championships Saturday at Nichols Park in Jacksonville, Ill.

The Pioneer men won their 11th league title in a row and the women their fourth straight. On top of that, Sarah Spencer '08 defended her women's individual title. Grinnell's men now own 24 MWC cross country titles, which is best-ever in the league and surpasses Carleton's 23.

Grinnell's women easily won them team title, scoring 38 points compared to runner-up Carroll's total of 71. The Pioneer men tallied 45 points to beat runner-up St. Norbert College by six.

The day started on a stellar note for the Pioneers as Spencer ran the 5 kilometer course in 17 minutes, 59.92 seconds and Allison Louthan '08 finished as the runner-up in 18:18.95, beating two-time MWC champ Erin Kelley of Carroll College, who was third.

Becky Bessinger '09 was sixth in 19:26.69, Maja Gamble '11 added a 10th-place finish in 19:56.90 and Elizabeth Jach '09 was 19th in 20:13.43. Rounding out the top seven were Rachel Whitfield '10 (21st in 20:28.23) and Erin Sindewald '08 (28th in 20:54.23).

The Pioneer men used a solid pack to take the title. Henry Reich '09 led that pack by placing seventh in the 8 kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 21.77 seconds. He was followed by David Montgomery '10 (eighth in 26:27.92), David Krist '08 (ninth in 26:36.85), Charles Knuth '08 (10th in 26:42.10) and Noah DeLong '11 (11th in 26:46.23).

Other top 20 finishers were Ethan Heppner '11 (14th in 26:49.52), Sam Calisch '10 (15th in 26:49.84) and Mike Horrell '09 (19th in 26:54.39). The overall champ was Jeff Pentek of St. Norbert, who ran 25:17.37.

Both Grinnell teams have two weeks off before competing in the NCAA Regional Meet at Northfield, Minn.

Click here for MWC Men's Results

Click here for MWC Championship Photos