Mile posts: Items on Janette Schraft, Peter Shippy, Craig Becker, Caroline McMartin, Courtney Sporrer, Annie Frisbie, Cody Baele,Matt Lorenz
Two big college cross country meets highlighted the action in this week's edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.
The 26th-ranked (by U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) Iowa State women finished sixth at the Virginia Invitational, the preview meet for NCAA nationals on Nov. 18, to easily outperform their ranking.
The Cyclones scored 231 points, ahead of No. 15 Michigan State (243), No. 14 Providence (246) and No. 5 Colorado (253) in an effort that could signal great things to come at the Big 12 Championships in Ames on Oct. 28. Significantly helping the cause was redshirt senior Janette Schraft, finishing 31st in the 5-kilometer race in 16:58.3 at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville. It was the second time the former Glenwood prep has broken 17 minutes in her career. Running fifth on the team and rounding out the Cyclones' scoring was former Charles City prep and Northern Iowa transfer Kiki Connell (72nd, 17:24.2.). Other Cyclones competing from Iowa were reigning Big 12 runner of the week Ashlyn Keeney (92nd, 17:35.4) and Bella Heikes (94th, 17:36.3). Keeney is a sophomore and former North Liberty athlete. Heikes is a redshirt sophomore and former Johnston prep. Northern Arizona was the champion with 48 points, 56 ahead of Stanford, and NAU's Elise Stearns was the winner in 16:18.9.
The 27th-ranked Cyclone men's team ran to a 13th-place finish with 336 points, with defending NCAA champion Northern Arizona the winner with 71. Placing 72nd and fourth on the Iowa State team was former Central Lyon-GLR prep Gable Sieperda in his season debut. The redshirt senior clocked a time of 24:11.9. The leader for Iowa State was Said Mechaal in 23rd place in 23:44.0. The winner was Northern Arizona's Drew Bosley in 23:20.3.
The defending NAIA champion Dordt University men represented themselves well at the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday. The fifth-ranked (by USTFCCA) Defenders posted their best finish ever at Griak with a third-place score of 99 points in the Maroon division. Leading the way was graduate student and former Sioux Center prep Peter Shippy. The reigning NAIA steeplechase champion placed fourth overall over the 8K course in 25:45.5. Junior Craig Becker was next across the line in 25:50.1, marking the first time Dordt had ever placed two runners in the top 10 at Griak. Contributing to the podium finish at Les Bolstad Golf Course was sophomore and former MOC-FV (Orange City) prep Sam May. May took 77th place in 27:16.2.
The Central College men took 13th out of 31 teams and leading the Dutch was senior and former Sidney prep Noah Jorgenson. Jorgenson ran 26:24.4 for 24th place. Freshman William Wadsley finished as the No. 2 runner on Central's team for the first time. The former Gilbert prep grabbed 57th in 26:59.4. Fifth-year senior Caleb Silver was right behind Wadsley in 58th place in 27:00.4. Silver is a former BCLUW (Conrad) prep. Freshman and former Norwalk prep Donovan Card also ran to a 100th-place finish in 27:30.8 on the hilly course. The winning team was top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan with 58 points.
In the men's Gold division, Minnesota's Noah Kohut-Jackson finished 52nd and the No. 3 runner for the Gophers. The former Ames High product ran 25:18.0 over the 8K course. Placing 92nd and running fifth for South Dakota State was former Sioux City North prep Will Lohr. The redshirt freshman ran 26:04.1. Minnesota was ninth in the team race, South Dakota State 10th.
In the women's maroon 6K race, Central College senior Caroline McMartin improved six positions and 27 seconds from her finish at Griak a year ago. The former Pella High prep ran 22:50.0 to place 13th overall. Senior teammate and former Aplington-Parkersburg prep Megan Johnson was next for the Dutch in 16th place in 22:52.9. Junior Addy Parrott, a former Danville athlete, ended up 49th in 23:53.4. The final two scorers for Central, which finished eighth with 217 points, were senior Lindsey Davidson (69th, 24:14.8) and sophomore Peyton Steffen (82nd, 24:26.9). Davidson went to Northwood-Kensett High while Steffen is a former Marion prep.
Continuing her strong freshman season was Luther College freshman Teah Miller. The former Iowa Falls-Alden prep finished 64th in 24:12.5 while leading the Norse. Finishing right behind Miller was Dordt senior Lucy Borkowski. Running fourth on the Defenders' ninth-place team, the former Harlan Community athlete ran 24:13.2. Also cracking the top 100 for Dordt was freshman and former Waukee High prep Isabella Webb. Webb clocked 24:31.3 for 87th place.
South Dakota true freshman Madison Brouwer continued her stellar freshman season by placing 57th in 22:25.1 in the Gold competition. The former Sibley-Ocheyedan prep was the No. 3 runners for the Coyotes.
Morningside College sophomore Courtney Sporrer picked up a victory at the Wayne State Wildcat Classic on Friday. The former Logan-Magnolia prep ran 23:18.65 to win by nearly a minute on the 6K course at the Wayne Country Club. Taking fifth place was Northwestern junior Emma Haley. The former MOC-FV prep ran 24:49.04.
Wayne State's Quentin Dreyer finished fourth in the men's 8K race in 27:12.04. The sophomore, a former IKM-Manning prep, was No. 2 on the team. The winning time was 26:39.49.
Switching to the roads, where former Iowa State All-American Annie Frisbie had a subpar day at the Berlin Marathon on a day when Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa broke the world record with an amazing 2:11:53 time. Frisbie, a Minnesota Distance Elite and Puma athlete finished 17th among the pro women in 2:27:02. Frisbie, 26, was the top American, however.
"Took a big swing today, but didn’t quite reach the goals I set out for," Frisbie wrote on Instagram. "I’m the fittest I’ve ever been and raced with a confident mindset, but even when everything goes right in a buildup, the body might have different plans on the day. Such is marathoning. The Berlin experience has been amazing and it was inspiring to witness so many incredible performances. Can’t wait to come back someday."
Another former Cyclone fared well at the Great Cow Harbor 10K Run that served as the USATF 10K Championships on Saturday. Amanda Vestri, who completed her college career at Syracuse in June, finished fourth overall in 33:02.00. Vestri, 24, pocketed $1,500. Recent Hansons-Brooks addition and seven-time NCAA champion for Loras College Kassie Parker, 24, finished 13th among the women in 34:37. Parker also is a former Clayton Ridge (Guttenberg) prep. The winner was Weini Kelati in 31:57.
At the 40th Capital Pursuit 10 mile race in downtown Des Moines, Runablaze Iowa's Cody Baele, 28, of Des Moines cruised to victory in 50:16. That time is the fifth best in club history. Teammate and former Iowa Central and Dubuque Senior athlete Blake Whalen, 28, was runner-up in 52:56 on the new, hillier course. New Des Moines resident William Lusty, 22, was third in 56:01. New Runablaze team member and former UC Davis athlete Zachary Katzman, 25, of Waukee took fourth in 57:47. Former Northern Iowa runner Rob Semelroth, 48, was the top masters athlete in 59:00. He was one spot ahead of the women's winner, 2014 Grandma's Marathon winner Pasca Myers, 37. The Runablaze athlete and Ames resident ran 1:00:11. That time is fifth best in club history.
Runablaze's Austin O'Brien, 31, of Waukee was the 5K winner on a tough, hilly course in 15:59. O'Brien is a former Pleasant Valley and Central College athlete. O'Brien won by 1:24. Former Simpson College runner Rebecca Diemer, 29, of Adel was the women's winner in 19:57.
At a very quick Quad Cities Marathon on Sunday, Cedar Rapids Prairie alum Matt Lorenz ran 2:22:23 for fourth place overall in a race won by Abraham Talam Kipkemei in 2:16:35. The women's winner was Damaris Areba in 2:32:16.
In the half marathon, former Pleasant Valley prep and Running Wild Elite men's team coordinator Devin Allbaugh finished runner-up in 1:06:45. He trailed Jaime Marcos by 1:37. RWE's Mike Gille, 23, of Bettendorf and a former Augustana College athlete finished fourth in 1:08:44. RWE teammate and former Davenport Assumption prep Dan Froeschle, 33, of Davenport was fifth in 1:09:28. Runablaze's Kallin Carolus Khan, a former University of Iowa students living in Iowa City, took sixth in 1:10:34. Former University of Iowa student Brooke Slayman was the women's runner-up in 1:19:30, 26 seconds behind the winner.
Back to cross country. At the Viking Invitational hosted by Grand View University at the DMACC course, Mary Wood of the Runablaze Iowa team finished third in the women's 5K in 20:19.84. Finishing third was Mount Mercy's J'Lyn Knutson in 20:22.88. Knutson is a former Melcher-Dallas prep. Mount Mercy won the title with 50 points. Sophomore Kalin Rotzoll, a former Clear Creek-Amana prep, led Grand View with a fifth-place effort in 20:26.57. The winning time was 19:52.62.
William Penn cruised to victory in the men's team race with 20 points, 44 ahead of Mount Mercy, and swept four of the top five spots. The top Iowa native was senior Jonah Heckenberg, a former Van Buren prep, in 27:38.69. The winner was his teammate, Brandon Williams, in 26:41.34.
Finishing with triathlon, where Runablaze's Iowa's Elaina Biechler finished 60th overall among the women at Ironman 70.3 Washington in Maple Valley, Wash. The former Coe College standout from Dubuque finished the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run in 4:50:55.
MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Janette Schraft, Peter Shippy, Craig Becker, Caroline McMartin, Courtney Sporrer, Annie Frisbie, Cody Baele.Matt Lorenz
