Mile posts: Items on Betsy Saina, Lexi Brown, Shaelyn Hostager, Lauren Schulze, Ashlyn Keeney, Myles Bach, Quinton Orr, Tyson Wieland

Halfway around the globe, Betsy Saina continued to pad her resume as one of the women to watch at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February.

The former three-time Iowa State NCAA champion and 11-time Big 12 Conference champion fought off Ethiopia's Rahma Tusa over the final mile to claim victory at the Sydney Marathon on Sunday morning and lead off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes. Saina, fifth at the Tokyo Marathon in March, ran 2:26:47 to win by six seconds.

Running on a rather warm day, Saina was in a pack that went through the halfway point in 1:14:23. Saina and Tusa then broke free from a group past the 30-kilometer mark and were together at 35K in 2:02:49. That's when Saina, 35, created a gap over Tusa, building her advantage to 16 seconds at 40K. Tusa's late charge wasn't enough as Saina ran negative splits over the second half, covering the final 13.1 miles in 1:12:24 on the way to the finish at the Sydney Opera House.

"When you come here for the first time, you don’t know what to expect,” Saina told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I heard different stories, some people say it is really hard, some people say its uphill and downhill … it’s not an easy course for sure, it’s a big challenge course. But I am so happy."

Saina's week will get even better when she becomes one of five former Cyclones inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday in Ames. She will be honored also at halftime of the Iowa STtate football game on Saturday.

After winning Australia's biggest marathon with 17,000 finishers, Saina now sets her sights on the U.S. Trials on Feb. 3 in Orlando, Fla., where it could be rather warm like it was in Sydney.

Moving now to college cross country, where Wartburg College junior Lexi Brown topped all Division I runners while leading several Iowans to high finishes at the Redbird Invite in Normal, Ill., on Friday. The former New London prep captured the victory on the 6K course in 21:39.7 to top Illinois State's Claire Fuhlhage by 2.1 seconds. Fellow Wartburg junior Shaelyn Hostager finished third in 21:50.4 and Knights senior Aubrie Fisher, the reigning NCAA Division III 3,000 steeplechase champion, took fifth in 22:04.6 to help No. 1-ranked Wartburg to a runner-up finish with 44 points. Hostager is a former Dubuque Hempstead prep while Fisher competed for AGWSR (Ackley).

Taking the team title was the host Redbirds with 44 points. Running as the No. 2 athlete for Illinois State was sophomore and former Valley prep Lauren Schulze. Schulze finished just ahead of Fisher in 22:03.0.

Northern Iowa finished third in the team race with 81 points and was paced by former Waverly-Shell Rock prep and Hawkeye Community College transfer Emma Hoins. Hoins, a junior, crossed the line in 22:10.6 for seventh place. Junior teammate Kate Crawford, a former Guthrie Center prep, finished eighth in 22:14.4. Illinois State's third runner was former Southeast Polk athlete Mattison Plummer, 10th in 22:21.4. Plummer is a junior. Wartburg junior Ellie Meyer ended up 16th in 22:35.1. Meyer is a former Iowa Falls-Alden prep. Iowa ran some individuals and leading the way for the Hawkeyes in 19th place was senior and former Ottumwa runner Alli Bookin-Nosbisch. Bookin-Nosbisch was 19th in 22:41.8. Former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep Ella Popenhagen paced a trio of Panthers in the next five positions. The Northern Iowa junior was 21st in 22:44.3. Panther junior Sophia Jungling, a former Aplington-Parkersburg prep, grabbed 25th place in 22:54.8.

Wartburg's final scorer was sophomore Haley Meyer in 35th place in 23:20.3. Meyer is a former Kee (Lansing) prep. Next for the Knights was senior and former Saint Ansgar prep Addy Carlson in 43rd place in 23:29.3. Taking 47th place was Northern Iowa freshman and former Dubuque Hempstead prep Brooke O'Brien in 23:33.3. Also cracking the top 50 was Wartburgt senior Ashley Bloomquist. The former Fairfield High prep was 50th in 23:38.3.

In the men's 8K race, former Marion prep Shane Erb of Wartburg finished fifth in 24:43.9 to help lead the seventh-ranked Knights to a third-place team finish with 67 points. Erb is a sophomore. Northern Iowa was seventh in the team race and pacing the Panthers was junior and former Tipton athlete Caleb Shumaker. Shumaker was 11th in 24:58.4.

Then, it was more Wartburg runners. Junior and former Johnston prep Sam Schmitz captured 13th place in 25:00.4. Fellow junior and former North Liberty prep Jack Kinzer ended up 17th in 25:06.9. Two spots later was Knights sophomore and former Center Point-Urbana prep Eli Larson in 25:09.9. In 22nd place was Wartburg sophomore and former Ankeny Centennial prep Tyler Schermerhorn in 25:20.0. Knights junior Michael Goodenbour, a former Cedar Falls prep, took 29th in 25:27.3. The No. 2 runner for Northern Iowa was freshman and former Southeast Polk prep Carson Owens. Owens was 30th in 25:28.4. Wartburg junior and former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep Jacob Green took 36th in 25:46.7. Sophomore teammate and former Washington High prep Lance Sobaski grabbed 38th in 25:47.8.

The Iowa State women sat out their top runners but the result was still a team championship in the Red Division at the Greeno-Dirksen Invite hosted by Nebraska in Lincoln. The Cyclones placed all seven runners in the top 25 to edge the host Huskers, 52-62. Placing fourth in the 5K race was sophomore and former North Liberty prep Ashlyn Keeney in 17:22.2. Keeney was the lone Cyclone from Iowa competing. Omaha sophomore and former Valley High prep Kamryn Ensley was the No. 2 runner for the Mavericks in 30th place in 18:24.72. Placing 36th overall among the two divisions and running unattached was former Griswold and Wichita State star Rebekah Topham. Topham ran 18:14.3. The winner was Nebraska's Berlyn Schutz in 17:10.66.

Northwest Missouri State finished second in Gold Division team race with 66 points, 15 behind Nebraska-Kearney, and the Bearcats were paced by eighth-place finisher Taylor McCreedy. The former Atlantic prep and Iowa Central Community College standout ran 18:02.51. That time is 11th best Bearcat history. Finishing 39th was Northwest was freshman and former Norwalk prep Breelie Mauro in 19:15.07. Freshman teammate and former Clarinda prep Mayson Hartley took 52nd in 19:30.34. The winner was Winona State's Lindsay Cunningham in 16:07.2.

The Northwest Missouri State men also took second in the Gold Division and helping the Bearcats' cause was former ADM (Adel) prep and Iowa State transfer Nate Mueller. The redshirt sophomore ran 23:54.0 for 8K, the second-best time in school history, to place fourth overall. His sophomore teammate, Drew Atkins, set a new school record with a 23:45.7 effort and third place.

Third-ranked (in NCAA Division II) Nebraska-Kearney was the team champion with 51, 15 better than Northwest Missouri, and was buoyed by former Center Point-Urbana prep Myles Bach. The redshirt junior clocked 24:28.75 for seventh place. Bach was the No. 2 runner for the Lopers.

Northwest Missouri's Cooper Greenslade, a redshirt freshman and another former ADM prep, finished 35th in 25:41.1 The South Dakota State transfer was the No. 6 runner for the Bearcats. Buena Vista University's Kyle Miller, a junior and former Carlisle prep, took 56th in 26:15.00.

The Iowa State men also sat out many of their top runners in the Red Division competition, allowing some younger runners to take the spotlight. Cyclones sophomore Quinton Orr, a former Humboldt prep, ran a new best of 24:27.9 for 8K to place 10th. Nebraska senior Jerry Jorgenson, a former Treynor prep, was the No. 3 runner for the Cornhuskers in 25th place in 25:29.09. Cyclone junior Sam Hall, a former Dowling Catholic prep and Arkansas transfer, ran to a 27th-place finish in 25:39.45. Drake University, competing with a group of mostly international and East Coast athletes, was runner-up in the team competition with 31 points, two behind Kansas. Iowa State was fourth with 98 points.

Turning briefly to triathlon. Runablaze Iowa leader Tyson Wieland competed in one last Ironman event before his season concludes and the former Johnston High and Iowa Central athlete fared well, finishing 18th among the men's pros at Ironman Michigan 70.3 in Frankfort on Sunday. Wieland covered the 1.2-mile swim in 25:09, the 56-mile bike in 2:09:24 and the half marathon in 1:21:07 for a total time of 3:58:55. The winner was Canadian Jackson Laundry in 3:36:48.

I started out strong (on the run), but an abdominal and hip cramp severely slowed me down the 2nd half," Wieland wrote on Instagram. "Guess I have some TT work to do over the winter! Overall, it was a solid day and lots to take away."

Back to cross country, where the No. 4-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse men's team opened its season with a dominating performance at the Carleton College (Minn.) Running of the Cows on Saturday in Northfield, Minn. Finishing 17th overall and 11th on the Eagles' team was senior and former Pleasant Valley athlete Parker Huhn. Huhn ran 25:43.00 over the 8K course. In 21st place was junior teammate and former Clear Lake athlete Adam Loenser in 25:50.5. La Crosse scored 36 points to easily outdistance the 75 total of Carleton (Minn.).

The Loras College teams competed at the National Catholic Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Friday and former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep Carlo Dannenfelser finished as the No. 2 runner for the Duhawks. The junior ran 25:35.2 over the five-mile course to place 25th. He was just three seconds behind team leader Ryan Harvey. The Duhawks finished fourth in the 10-team race with 105 points, with Notre Dame first with a perfect 15. Former Johnston prep and Loras sophomore Bailey Vaughan led the Loras women over the 5K course in 18:53. Vaughan took 43rd. The Loras women finished sixth of 11 teams.

The Missouri Western teams competed at the Southern Stampede Friday in Joplin, Mo., with two Iowans faring well. Former Waukee High prep Abby Kinney finished 49th and second on the Griffon team in the 5K race in 19:09.85. That time is less than a second from a new personal best for Kinney, who is a junior at Missouri Western. In the men's 8K race, senior and former Atlantic prep Jalen Peterson took 48th in 27:08.32. Former Iowa Central runner Aspel Kiprob, now at East Central, was the winner in 24:56.21.

At the Trent Smith Invitational in Mason City on Friday, Iowa Central swept the top three spots to claim the title with 29 points. Leading the way for third-place North Iowa Area Community College was freshman and former North Butler prep Owen Almelien. Almelien was fourth in 27:06.45 over the 8K course. The winner of the 5K was Lacey Wolfram, running unattached, in 19:47.77.

Finishing with road racing in Iowa, where Lisbon's Ean Caskey continues to take aim at Iowa masters records, including some of his own. The former Cornell College all-conference athlete ran a 14:51 gun time at the Run for Pie 5K on Saturday in Lisbon. Caskey, 42, said in an email that the course was 2.98 miles, not long enough for state record verification. He was taking aim at his 15:20 state record set at this race a year ago. Jerry Frawley, a former Wartburg All-American and Monticello standout who is now the head cross country coach at Cornell, ran 15:47 for runner-up honors. Frawley, 28, also lives in Lisbon.

The women's winner was former Mount Mercy and Linn-Mar athlete Deanna Newhouse, 25, of Cedar Rapids. Newhouse ran 17:35 amid a string of excellent performances. Jessie Clark, 35, of Cedar Rapids ran 18:30 for second. Jessica Steines, 42, of Calamus picked up third in 18:43.

Former Loras College standout Luke Guttormson, 23, captured the overall victory at the MVRA Benefit Classic in Dubuque on Saturday. Guttormson ran 1:10:57, a 5:24 pace per mile. Running Wild Elite's Nate Hopp, 40, moved into fourth place all-time among Iowa masters runners by completing the 13.1 miles in 1:13:05, a 5:34 pace. Hopp resides in Cedar Rapids.

"Goal was 1:14," Hopp said on X (formerly Twitter). Been 8-10 yrs since I've been sub 1:14!"

The women's winner and sixth overall was former Iowa City West and Iowa Hawkeye Gabby Skopec, 24, of Coralville. Skopec ran 1:22:09 for a 6:16 pace.

At the Greater Des Moines Women's Half Marathon on Sunday, former Drake standout Casey McDermott, 34, of Malcom was the overall winner in 1:20:33. McDermott topped triathlete Jess Smith, 41, of Clive by 3:42.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

Want to hear more about distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Betsy Saina, Lexi Brown, Shaelyn Hostager, Lauren Schulze, Ashlyn Keeney, Myles Bach, Quinton Orr, Tyson Wieland