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DSU men capture team cross country title at Briar Cliff
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By ARIY-EL BOYNTON, Sports Editor
| 10/12/2009 |
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The Dakota State University men's and women's cross country teams placed first and third, respectively, in the Briar Cliff Invitational on Saturday at the Adams Nature Preserve in McCook Lake.
Against a talented Doane (Neb.) team, the DSU men captured the team title.
DSU recorded 46 points, beating out Doane, which had 65 points.
"We finished 18 points ahead of Doane, currently ranked 16th in the nation," said Trent Mack, DSU coach. "Dakota State finished with four in the top 10 in a field of 143 runners."
Individually, DSU runners claimed first, second and third place in the meet. Anthony Drealan captured the individual title in 25:21.18; Devon Berkness finished second in 25:37.05; and Tyler Van Peursem placed third in 25:49.24.
"Anthony Drealan and Tyler Van Peursem are two of the most disciplined and consistent runners I've ever worked with. It is so reflective in their racing as they continue to run at the front of the pack with such confidence.
Matt Fideler placed 10th in a time of 26:13.45.
"Devon Berkness and Matt Fideler had the breakout races that they really needed," said Mack. "They are figuring out how to put it all together over the course of five miles. When you have four runners in the top 10, it can make it difficult for teams to make up that difference in scoring."
Andrew Manning was 31st in a time of 27:10.65 and Ben Harrison was 53rd in a time of 27:49.57.
"Ben Harrison was our seventh finisher and I thought he really had an impressive race," said Mack.
Other Trojan finishers were: 61.Michael Hoffman, 28:10.11; 62.John Bintliff, 28:12.80; 74.Bryan Wolfe, 28:48.23; 76.Cody Foreman, 28:49.09; 93.Kyle Sanderson, 29:30.80; 103.Keith Huffman,29:52.88 and 138.Ethan Shafer, 32:44.24.
"All of our men showed tremendous improvement. Sometimes your other finishers can get overshadowed by your top five, but these guys are putting in the same amount of work and time and finally reaping the benefits," said Mack. "Coming off a weekend like this really motivates the group to not only continue putting forth the effort but really becoming believing in the training they are doing."
DSU women finish third
DSU's women's team placed third in the meet with 88 points, one point behind Doane, which had 87 points. Morningside College won the team title with 40 points.
"We told the ladies before the race that we wanted to test the limits a little this meet and go out a little more aggressively. They did, and put themselves up in the front of the race early on and still managed to finish strongly at the end," said Mack.
DSU's Stephanie Warnke placed sixth with a time of 18:51.72. Samantha Warnke finished 12th in 19:03.25.
"It was a season-best for all the girls and a personal best for a few of them. When they all run their fastest times of the season, it's hard to single any one person out, but Samantha Warnke was our second finisher this meet and had one of the best races I've ever seen her run," said Mack.
Brittany Young placed 15th in 19:10.25 and Clarice Bauer came in 21st in 19:21.28.
"Freshman Brittany Young and senior Clarice Bauer also had dramatic time improvements, yet I truly believe they are just starting to tap into what they are capable of," said Mack.
Suzanne Swett finished 39th in 19:49.86.
DSU cross country teams will compete in their last meet on Oct. 24 at the Mount Marty Invitational before the DAC championships.
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