The Grinnell College cross country teams both had strong starts to their 2008 campaigns, as each finished third in their respective divisions at the Bob Timmons Classic hosted by the University of Kansas on a hot Saturday.

On the women's side, Elizabeth Jach '09 (pictured) led the way with a 22nd-place finish on the 5 kilometer course. Her time was 21:07.6. She was followed by Catherine Bisignano '12 (22nd in 21:12.2), Rachel Whitfield '10 (26th in 21:21.5), Hannah Colter '12 (30th in 21:34.3) and Becky Bessinger '09 (35th in 21:40.8).

Grinnell tallied 96 points in the team standings. Kansas won the team crown and Butler County Community College was second.

The Pioneer men had 94 points to finish behind the host school and Butler County Community College (the Kansas alumni team also competed but does not officially count).

Henry Reich '09 led the Pioneers with an eighth-place finish in 26:23.1 over the 8 kilometer course. Next in line for the Pioneers were David Montgomery '10 and Nick Sparr '09, who were 17th and 18th in 27:12.8 and 27:15.8, respectively. Dan Krauss '12 was 22nd in 27:24.9 and Sam Calisch '10 placed 24th in 27:27.1.

The Pioneers host the annual Les Duke Invitational Sept. 13 at Oakland Acres Golf Course.
Bob Timmons Women's Meet Results
Bob Timmons Photos

Last fall the Grinnell College women's cross country title made it four Midwest Conference titles in a row. This year the Pioneers are hoping to make it five.

Despite the graduation of All-Americans Sarah Spencer and Allison Louthan, the Pioneers return plenty of strong runners for the 2008 campaign. Becky Bessinger '09 leads the way after earning All-Region honors in 2007 with a 35th-place finish at that meet. She was also All-Conference last year after placing sixth, while other All-Conference honorees include Maja Gamble '11 (10th place) and Elizabeth Jach '09 (19th).

"Becky is coming off a long-term injury and should be at full strength very soon," said Grinnell coach Evelyn Freeman. "She'll be one of our top scoring runners and is a captain. Maja is also coming off an injury that happened at the beginning of outdoor track and will again be one of our top scoring runners who will be back at full strength soon. Elizabeth placed at conference last year and should do so again. She's also one of our captains."

Other returnees Freeman said will be solid contributors include Nora Colter '10, Leah Russell '11 and Rachel Whitfield '10. "Nora should be among our top group and has healed from an injury suffered last year in cross country," said Freeman. "Leah came in last August injured and finally was able to compete at the end of track season. She should be an all-conference runner. Rachel should also be among our top runners and was all-conference as a freshman."

Freeman said others who should contribute include Catherine Bisignano '12, Laura Glass '12 (sister of Rachel), Hannah Colter '12 (sister of Nora), Olivia Horan '12 and Sachi Graber '12. "I probably will have other freshmen who can contribute, but we'll need time to scope things out," said Freeman.

A highlight for the Pioneers will be the chance to host two meets this season, the annual Les Duke Invitational on Sept. 13 as well as the NCAA Division III Regional Meet on Nov. 15. Both will be at Oakland Acres Golf Club.

There were 99 NCAA Division III men's teams to earn the award and 141 women's squads. For a team to be considered for the award, it must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Meet and earned a minimum 3.10 team cumulative grade point average. Individually, a trio of Grinnell College runners were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Women's Team.

Pioneers earning the honor were Allison Louthan '08 (left), Becky Bessinger '09 (center) and Sarah Spencer '08 (right). A total of 203 females in NCAA Division III earned such an honor nation-wide.

Sarah Spencer '08 (left) and Allison Louthan '08 (right) wrapped up their Grinnell College cross country careers in impressive fashion Saturday, as each collected All-American honors at the NCAA Division III national meet at Northfield, Minn.

Spencer repeated as an All-American as she placed sixth in the 6 kilometer race in a time of 21:28, while Louthan placed 32rd in 22:07. The top 35 in the race, which was contested in slightly snowy and cold conditions, earned All-American honors.

Spencer, already Grinnell's all-time fastest runner, improved on her previous personal best by a whopping 22 seconds. Louthan improved on last season's 92nd-place performance at nationals. "We're really pleased … they ran great and had extremely fast times," said Grinnell coach Evelyn Freeman. "The field was very competitive. The winner ran 20:53, and second through fifth were 21:16 to 21:27, so Sarah was right in the hunt. What a way for both Sarah and Allison to finish their cross country careers here. And it's even better that they finished up by being named All-Americans. That's a real tribute to both runners."

Both runners were satisfied with their performances. "Off the starting line, people went out really quickly which was to be expected," said Spencer. "I had to follow suit in order to keep myself from getting stuck back in the pack. I went through the mile a lot quicker than I have all season, but at a little less than halfway through the race there were still more than 15 women in front of me. I prefer to be strong through the middle of the race and so that was when I picked people off and moved up. The last half mile I really felt the effects of that fast first mile and it was a tough to push through to the end. I think it was the excitement of all the screaming spectators helped pull me through to the finish."

"I felt I ran well and did as well as I could," said Louthan. "The race went out really fast and all together, and I think Sarah and I were smart and tried to stay up at the top for the first 400 meters or so, so we didn't get boxed in too badly. Other than that, it was a good race for me personally and I'm happy to end on a race I feel proud of."

Both admitted its hard to believe their careers are done. "It's really sad to be done with cross country, but again, a good way to go out," said Louthan. "I'm still planning on doing track and so am not that sad. But since Sarah will be gone in the spring, that's sad and I'm sure the whole team feels the same. However sad I am, it's nice to feel like I have more time to do other things."

"It certainly has not sunk in that I am now finished with Grinnell cross country," added Spencer. "I have been running for a long time and I can't imagine what it will be like to run without a team. It is going to be very lonely without them."

See results

Grinnell College's Sarah Spencer '08 (left) and Allison Louthan '08 (right) will close out their Pioneer cross country careers Saturday when they travel to Northfield, Minn., for the NCAA Division III National Meet hosted by St. Olaf College. The event begins at 11 a.m.

Spencer, who finished third at nationals a year ago, was the runner-up at last Saturday's Central Region Meet at Northfield, touring the 6 kilometer course in 21 minutes, 47 seconds. Louthan advanced after placing seventh at the regional event. She ran 22:24.

"I'm pleased how the team ran overall," said Grinnell coach Evelyn Freeman, whose squad was eighth at the meet. "Sarah had a personal best time, and a few others did, too. Becky Bessinger was one of those. She was 35th this year after placing 16th last year with a slower time, so that shows what the region looked like this year. There's no reason to be disappointed in our performance, even though we're not going to nationals as a team."

Freeman said the injury and illness bug bit the Pioneers all season long. "We've been missing runners throughout the year," she said. "If we'd been healthy we might have been able to qualify for nationals, but those are just things you have to accept and deal with."

Freeman is looking for big performances from both Pioneers on Saturday. "They're coming out of a tough region, so they've seen great competition," she said. "Both are seniors and this is their final race, so you know they're going to give it their all. It's nice they're running on the exact same course they've run twice already this year. That should be helpful. Both Sarah and Allison have already talked about varying their strategy a bit to see if they can run even better. There's no reason both can't be All-Americans (place in the top 35)." Both runners have been happy how the Pioneer team has endured this season. "Overall it has been a good season," said Spencer. "As a team we had a lot of women who improved an incredible amount and trained at a new level from where they were in the past. It was a tough season with a lot of sickness and injuries and I am proud of how much everyone came together as a team and supported each other through the difficulties. Naturally I wish we were going to nationals as a team, but unfortunately it didn't work out this time around."

"The season has gone pretty well … I'm satisfied with how I've done and progressed, and it has gone fairly well for the team, as well," added Louthan. "We had a number of people dealing with injuries, which made it more difficult than last year, and so in some ways it hasn't gone as well as we had hoped coming into the year. But I think we've done really well considering the struggles we've been faced with as a team. One of the highlights overall was the number of injured women or recovering from injuries who were able to run at conference; seeing some of them finish was really wonderful."

Spencer admitted the season has been a blur. "It has gone by much too quickly," she said. "I have come a long way these past two years, but I am still waiting for a break-through race where I can really put to use all the hard training we have done. This weekend is it, so hopefully I can dig deep and leave everything out on the course. I know that in a lot of ways I am a more mature runner now. Having been to nationals in track and cross country, I am not intimidated by running against women who have already made a name for themselves in Division III distance running. Their faces are familiar and I hope that I can draw on my experience from having gone up against some of them three times already and run a smarter race on Saturday. There are some extremely talented women in the field and regardless of what happens, it is neat just to be a part of all the excitement."

Both runners were happy with their regional performances. "The race went pretty well; some women PRed, so I think we ran as well as we could overall," said Louthan. "It's frustrating that we didn't qualify as a team, but again I think we have overcome a lot of obstacles this season regardless. In terms of my own race, I ran pretty well. I wanted to stick with Sarah for at least two miles and I did that, so I was happy with it. It will be nice to run the same course this weekend so I can be more prepared and try to do a little better on that course."

"My strategy for regionals was to try to run smart," said Spencer. "Lots of women get overly-excited off the starting line and go out too fast. It's a long race and going out fast can really affect the later stages of the race. I prefer to keep things in check early on and run strong through the second half. At the first mile Allison and I were running together and there were six to eight women in front of us. That was exactly how I wanted it to be. I think I should have picked it up a little more over the second mile, but at the time I chose not to. All in all Saturday's race was good, but there are things I could have done differently and it left me wanting to really go after it this coming weekend."

Both Spencer and Louthan are seeking to finish on a strong note Saturday. "The goal for this Saturday is to go out with a bang," said Spencer. " This is the last race for both Allison and me, so I think we both want to finish up feeling like we didn't hold anything back. Regardless of how we finish, it has been a great season and a pleasure to run and train together. I look forward to enjoying every minute of this coming weekend and to be able to run in the Grinnell uniform one last time."

"I think last year's trip to nationals will be really helpful," added Louthan. "Last year was really nerve-wracking and fairly intimidating, but I know what to expect this year and won't have as many jitters, hopefully. The conditions should be a bit better, as well. In terms of planning, I want to do the same thing as last weekend because it's just another race, even though it seems bigger and more important. Again, working together with Sarah will be really helpful during the race, and having the support of the team will be great, too."

Grinnell College's Sarah Spencer '08 (left) and Allison Louthan '08 (right) are returning to the NCAA Division III National Cross Country Meet after strong finishes at Saturday's Central Region Meet in Northfield, Minn.

Spencer placed second in the region with a new personal best time, touring the 6 kilometer course in 21 minutes, 47 seconds. Louthan was seventh in the race in 22:24.

Also earning all-region honors, which are awarded the top 35 runners, was Becky Bessinger '09. She finished 35th with a new personal best time of 23:29. Rounding out the Pioneers' list of runners were Elizabeth Jach '09 (83rd in 24:23), Maja Gamble '11 (108th in 24:56), Rachel Whitfield '10 (117th in 25:10) and Erin Sindewald '08 (136th in 26:05).

As a team, Grinnell finished eighth. The top two teams automatically qualify for nationals, and only the third- through fifth-place teams are considered for at-large national berths.

"As a team, we ran a good race," said Grinnell coach Evelyn Freeman. "We had a number of personal bests or season-best times. You can't ask much more than that. We were in a very competitive region with lots and lots of good teams who were closely bunched together in the standings." The national meet will be in Northfield, Minn., as well.
NCAA Central Region women's results

It was a clean sweep for the Grinnell College cross country teams at the Midwest Conference Championships Saturday at Nichols Park in Jacksonville, Ill.

The Pioneer men won their 11th league title in a row and the women their fourth straight. On top of that, Sarah Spencer '08 defended her women's individual title. Grinnell's men now own 24 MWC cross country titles, which is best-ever in the league and surpasses Carleton's 23.

Grinnell's women easily won them team title, scoring 38 points compared to runner-up Carroll's total of 71. The Pioneer men tallied 45 points to beat runner-up St. Norbert College by six.

The day started on a stellar note for the Pioneers as Spencer ran the 5 kilometer course in 17 minutes, 59.92 seconds and Allison Louthan '08 finished as the runner-up in 18:18.95, beating two-time MWC champ Erin Kelley of Carroll College, who was third.

Becky Bessinger '09 was sixth in 19:26.69, Maja Gamble '11 added a 10th-place finish in 19:56.90 and Elizabeth Jach '09 was 19th in 20:13.43. Rounding out the top seven were Rachel Whitfield '10 (21st in 20:28.23) and Erin Sindewald '08 (28th in 20:54.23).

The Pioneer men used a solid pack to take the title. Henry Reich '09 led that pack by placing seventh in the 8 kilometer race with a time of 26 minutes, 21.77 seconds. He was followed by David Montgomery '10 (eighth in 26:27.92), David Krist '08 (ninth in 26:36.85), Charles Knuth '08 (10th in 26:42.10) and Noah DeLong '11 (11th in 26:46.23).

Other top 20 finishers were Ethan Heppner '11 (14th in 26:49.52), Sam Calisch '10 (15th in 26:49.84) and Mike Horrell '09 (19th in 26:54.39). The overall champ was Jeff Pentek of St. Norbert, who ran 25:17.37.

Both Grinnell teams have two weeks off before competing in the NCAA Regional Meet at Northfield, Minn.

Click here for women's 2007 MWC Results

Click here for 2007 MWC Meet Photos