DULUTH, Minn. - It was a cold snowy day in Northeastern Minnesota, but the weather didn’t stop the Golden Bears from noteworthy improvement. Led by Concordia’s women runners, the meet featured season best times run by 60% of the entire Golden Bear squad. The ladies team showed a drastic 1 minute and 19 second per runner average improvement over the two weeks since the last time they raced the 6 kilometer race.
“We have been blessed with improvement each year,” says Coach Jonathan Breitbarth. “We come to just expect that we will show drastic improvement. I really credit the athletes for staying focused during workouts and staying patient during the season.”
Katie Monahan led the charge with a time of 25:02. Megan Fulton followed her with a significant 50 second improvement upon her season best time. Sandra James with a race of 28:07 rounded out a day in which all of the ladies ran season best times.
The men’s team was once again led by Jake Womeldorf. Jake covered the snowy course in a time of 26:57 as he dashed to a seventh place finish. Following behind Jake was a pack of runners consisting of Travis Wagers and Andrew Wacha. Andrew was making his cross-country debut running a very impressive 28:33. Seniors Daniel Schield and Brandon Kotek rounded out the scoring for the Golden Bears. A personal best time of 33:21 was run by first year runner Dylan Olson as he placed 6th on the team today.
After racing four weeks in a row, the Golden Bears will be gearing up for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships held in two weeks. Bemidji State University serves as the host school for the 2009 NSIC Championships.
CU Men's Results
7th Place – Jake Womeldorf – 26:57.0 (Season Best Time by 23 seconds. This time today moved Jake up to CU’s 10th best personal 8K time. 8th fastest race ever by a CU Junior. Establishes new CU course record on newly configured Pine Hill course.)
29th Place – Travis Wagers – 28:31.0 (31 second improvement from his time at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational last week)
31st Place – Andrew Wacha – 28:33.0 (Personal Best Time. 7th best time by a CU runner in his first race.)
40th Place – Daniel Schield – 29:15.0 (13 second improvement from his time at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational Last Week)
42nd Place – Brandon Kotek – 29:27.0 (2nd best time of his life and only 14 seconds from his personal best.)
67th Place – Dylan Olson – 33:21.0 (Personal Best Time by 32 seconds)
CU Women's Results
22nd Place – Katie Monahan – 25:02.0 (Season Best Time by 62 seconds. Establishes new CU course record on newly configured Pine Hill course. Posted her best time as a Golden Bear.)
24th Place – Megan Fulton – 25:06.0 (Season Best Time by 50 seconds. 2nd Best Time of her life and only 7 seconds from personal best time.)
67th Place – Sandra James – 28:07.0 (Season Best Time by 23 seconds)
