Mile posts: Items on Nickolas Kraus, Matt Hanson, Tyler Jermann, Kevin Lewis, Devin Allbaugh, Dan Froeschle, Phil Young, Elaina Biechler

A big change is coming to my Mile Posts and Weekend Update blog.

The modification concerns which college athletes will qualify for inclusion. In the past, all college distance runners with a tie to Iowa were eligible to be listed. Now, only college distance runners who were born in Iowa or attended high school in Iowa will be eligible. Athletes at Division I Iowa State or Drake, NAIA Dordt College or NJCAA Iowa Western, for instance, who are NOT from Iowa will not be eligible.

Professional athletes will not be affected by this change. Post-college distance runners or triathletes who attended a high school or college in Iowa and who meet the time or results standards for inclusion in the blog will remain eligible. They include current athletes like former Iowa State All-American Hillary Bor, former Dowling Catholic prep star Karissa Schweizer and even Iowa residents who meet time standards. I will continue to include results from races and meets, both far away and in Iowa, by worthy postcollegiate athletes.

I am making this move to facilitate time and energy in the production of this blog each week and to make this a more Iowa-centric blog. I hope the change will serve a bigger purpose of recognizing more deserving athletes from Iowa. This change will begin with the college cross country season. As always, your help with athletes for inclusion from the college, professional and postcollegiate ranks is welcome and appreciated.

And with that said, it's time to delve into a very short edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.

I start with triathlon, where Iowa State graduate Nickolas Kraus won the Triple Challenge event with the Chicago Triathlon on Sunday. Kraus totaled 3 hours, 22 minutes, 20 seconds over the Chicago Triathlon SuperSprint, Chicago International Triathlon and Chicago Triathlon Sprint races over the weekend to win the competition by 2:13 over James Harrington.

Kraus won the SuperSprint in 29:21.0 on Saturday, took fourth in the International Triathlon early Sunday in 1:47:25 and added another fourth-place finish in the Sprint event later Sunday morning in 1:05:34.0 to take the title.

"Great way to end my racing season and got to mix it up with some pros," Kraus wrote on Instagram.

Staying with triathlon and the Ironman 70.3 World Championships on Sunday in Lahti, Finland, where former Storm Lake resident Matt Hanson finished 30th among the professional men and the third-best American. The former Buena Vista University athlete and professor was timed in 3:47:57. The resident of Castle Rock, Colo., covered the 1.2-mile swim in 24:10, the 56-mile bike in 2:08:35 and the half marathon in 1:12:38. His swim ranked 28th and his bike was 36th. Hanson's ranking on the run was not listed by Ironman.

Germany’s Rico Bogen pulled off an upset, taking his second career Ironman 70.3 victory after finishing in 3:32:22 and covering the half marathon in 1:11:02.

"Disappointment is a part of sport….especially when it’s your career," Hanson wrote on Instagram. "You can feel like you’ve done everything right in the lead in, and still come short of your goals. It’s devastating sometimes. But without those feelings, you’d take the victories for granted. Trusting the process and know there will be brighter days ahead."

On to the track, where former Iowa State runner Tyler Jermann captured the victory at the Tracksmith Twin Cities Twilight 5000 Race 2 in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Distance Elite athlete from St. Paul ran 14:48.67 to top Joe Zack of Milwaukee by 15.09 seconds. Former Ottumwa and Iowa All-Big Ten runner Kevin Lewis of the MDE team took third in 15:10.96. Lewis lives in Richfield, Minn. Next across the line was former Luther College and Johnston High athlete Tom Altier. Altier, listed as a Minneapolis resident, ran 15:16.65.

"Finally pulled off the win at the Tracksmith Twilight 5k after finishing second at both of them last year," Jermann wrote on Instagram. "The 91 degrees at race time may have slimmed down the competition some."

Moving to the trails, where Running Wild Elite's Devin Allbaugh, 33, reset his own record in the 10-mile event held on trails and grass during the ScoCo Trail Races at Scott County Park in Long Grove on Saturday. The former Pleasant Valley prep covered the distance in 59:02 to top his mark of 59:25 from a year ago. The Bettendorf man was exactly a minute ahead of teammate and former Davenport Assumption prep Dan Froeschle, 33, of Davenport. Froeschle's time is now third best in race history.

Runablaze Iowa's Phil Young, 37, of Davenport was the 50-kilometer winner in 3:34:40. That time by the Fleet Feet runner was second best in race history and was more than 16 minutes ahead of the second-place athlete.

Finishing with triathlon, where Runablaze's Elaina Biechler was the women's winner and second overall at the eighth annual Hero Hustle on Sunday in Manchester. The former Mount Pleasant prep and Coe College standout from Dubuque was timed in 1:09:36. Former Luther College student Jason Engelken was the overall winner in 1:04:45. The event consisted of a 400-yard swim, 16-mile bike ride and 5K run.

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 Nickolas Kraus, Matt Hanson, Tyler Jermann, Kevin Lewis, Devin Allbaugh, Dan Froeschle, Phil Young, Elaina Biechler