Cornell sophomore Isaac vanWestrienen rose to the occasion in his biggest meet to date, racing to 16th place in a field of 229 runners at Saturday’s Midwest Region Men’s Cross Country Championships.
VanWestrienen shattered his personal-best 8K record and secured all-region honors with an effort that puts him in firm position for an NCAA individual berth.
Cornell’s first-year transfer covered the Max Championship Cross Country Course in 24:46, shaving 23 seconds off his best mark of the season. VanWestrienen scored the program’s highest individual regional finish since 2018, when the Rams placed three runners inside the top 12.
The NCAA qualifiers list will be announced Sunday, awarded to the top seven individuals from each region not part of an NCAA-qualifying team. The NCAA Division III Championships are Nov. 18 in Newville, Pa.
The Rams turned in their best regional team performance in five years, tying for eighth out of 31 teams with 310 points. Coach Jerry Frawley’s squad improved by three places from a season ago and beat two regionally-ranked teams in No. 8 Grinnell (332 points) and No. 10 Luther (353 points).
Cornell also claimed one point in the 2023-24 Bremner Cup All-Sport Series with a 20-39 victory over Coe in dual scoring.
Junior Gabe Soda recorded a big PR as Cornell’s second scorer, taking 46th in 25:33. He was 11 seconds shy of the top-35 all-region cutoff.
Junior Gabe Hunt also clocked his fastest time as a Ram, finishing 78th in 26:17. Junior Caleb Schopen was 85th (26:26) and senior Noah Lutzke 89th (26:30) to round out Cornell’s scoring fivesome. Brodie Callahan (27:02) and Fisher Isaacson (27:09) placed 115th and 124th, respectively.
North Central edged Wartburg for the team title, 49-55. Christopher Collet of Wartburg was crowned individual champion in 24:09.
Womens XC
Sophomore Alyza Koppes came away with another big personal record to pace the Rams at Saturday’s season-ending meet at the Midwest Region Women’s Cross Country Championships.
Koppes crossed the line 44th out of 214 finishers, improving by 68 places and more than two minutes from her regional position last year. She covered the 6K distance in 23:13, trimming 44 seconds off her previous PR.
The young Rams finished 22nd in the 31-team field with 664 points.
Junior Elinor Ascher-Handlin brought in Cornell’s second score, placing 124th in a personal-best 25:09. First-year Sophie Stumbo took 162nd (26:58) in her regional debut. Cari Pickup was 170th (27:36), Murray Page 180th (28:45) and Zoe Peesel 185th (28:56).
Wartburg won the team title by a 37-47 margin over Chicago. Ellie Meyer of Wartburg claimed individual medalist honors in 21:23.