Klokow cruises to 5th place at NCAA DIII Midwest Regional Championships
Winneconne, Wis. - Hosted at Lake Breeze Golf Course by the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional Championships were preceeded by snowfall for the second year now. The Pioneers, no strangers to the snow and mud, executed the tough racing conditions. Capitalizing on his senior year, Zach Klokow finished in 5th place of the 252 total runners. Klokow ran 24:49.1 - a lifetime personal best in the 8,000m race.
Winneconne, Wis. - Hosted at Lake Breeze Golf Course by the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional Championships were preceeded by snowfall for the second year now. The Pioneers, no strangers to the snow and mud, executed the tough racing conditions. Capitalizing on his senior year, Zach Klokow finished in 5th place of the 252 total runners. Klokow ran 24:49.1 - a lifetime personal best in the 8,000m race.
Running about 25 seconds off of his personal best time, sophomore Jacob Harland finished in 93rd place with a time of 26:51.6. Next, Ben Trihey finished in 105th place with a time of 27:01.4, establishing a new personal best time for himself.
Continuing on the personal best trend, senior Lars Hay crossed the finish line in 27:04.7 to place 106th. Slightly off his best time by 30 seconds, Nick Hein ran in at 113th place in 27:12.1.
Sophomore Jason Voelker kicked down a personal best time today, finishing in 131st place with a time of 27:30.9. Lastly, junior Jarod Baker ran for 147th place with a time of 27:47.1, about 20 seconds of his personal best time.
The Pioneer men's cross country team finished in 12th place among the 36 teams, scoring 414. The top three men's teams of the Midwest Region included North Central College (47), UW-La Crosse (89), and Washington University (98).
The Pioneer women's cross country team was led by senior Caitlyn Ifft. Ifft placed 91st among the 257 total runners. Ifft finished with a time of 24:18.5, finding a redeeming race following WIAC Championships. Kaitlyn Galgon followed, placing 114th with a time of 24:46.3 - a few seconds away from a season best time.
Junior Brenna Kautz maintained a solid race effort throughout the 6,000m, finishing in 120th place and running 24:51.7. Finishing less than 30 seconds away from her lifetime personal best time, senior Anna Drazkowski ran 25:58.4 for 164th place. Close behind was Kirstie Ramsey. Ramsey ran a lifetime best today of 26:08.7, only a few seconds shy of breaking into 25:00, good enough for 172nd place.
Seniors Haley Daniels and Claudia De Valk ran their final cross country race placing 197th and 207th respectively. Daniels ran almost 20 seconds away from her lifetime best time, running 27:03.2. De Valk ran 27:25.5, only 10 seconds off her lifetime best time in less-than-ideal conditions.
The Pioneer women's cross country team, scoring 651, finished in 22nd place among the 35 teams. The top three women's teams in the region included Washington University (37), University of Chicago (66), and UW-La Crosse (116) with UW-Eau Claire close to follow in fourth place (120).
Next up, Zach Klokow will represent the Pioneers at the NCAA DIII National Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23. The national championships will be hosted at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
