NACC Champs! Women's Cross Country soars to conference crown
MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin University Women's Cross Country team knew heading into Saturday's NACC Championships that if they ran their best race of the season, they would be in the hunt for the conference crown. The Falcons did just that, posting five runners in the top 12 for their first NACC Championship since the 2011 season.
THE BASICS
- Falcons Finish: 1st of 13 (40 points)
- Location: Concordia Wisconsin – Mequon, Wisconsin
- Falcons Top Five: Imperl, Sprotte, Sprotte, Lubner, Kulberg, Agnello
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The top 15 runners are honored as All-NACC performers and CUW placed five in the top 15. Imperl (Greenfield, Wis.) was recognized as an All-NACC runner for the fourth time in her career as she paced the Falcons with a 24:04.7, good for a fifth-place finish. In addition to the five All-NACC runners, Russ De Lap was honored as NACC Coach of the Year after leading his team to the conference title.
- Sprotte (Abbotsford, Wis.) was right behind Imperl, finishing sixth with a 24:28.3 on the 6K course. Mount Mary had the seventh-place runner, but the Falcons had the next two cross the finish line as well in Adrianna Lubner (Campbellsport, Wis.) and Martha Kulberg (Maple Grove, Minn.). Lubner came in at 24:44, while Kulberg was ninth overall with a time of 24:46.1.
- The Falcons fifth runner was All-NACC performer Paulina Agnello (Brookfield, Wis.). The senior posted a 25:05.3. CUW finished 22 points ahead of Aurora because they were able to put all five scoring runners ahead of the Spartans third runner.
- The Falcons ended up with four more runners in the top 24, including Rileigh Dunning (La Mesa, Calif.) who posted a 25:38.3 for a 17th-place finish. Molly Wirtz (Stevens Point, Wis.), Megan Senderhauf (Neenah, Wis.) and Alden Goucher (Port Charlotte, Fla.) came in 22nd through 24th in the race.
OTHER FALCONS
- Hannah Barrow (27:35.0)
- LaNea Bartel (28:23.5)
- Becca Wert (28:53.2)
- Leslie Christiansen (29:02.8)
- Alyssa Woo (29:10.9)
- Jenna Patterson (29:13.4)
- Kayla Charneski (31:04.6)
- Kaili Depies (31:24.5)
BEYOND THE RESULTS
- The Falcons won their fifth overall NACC Championships but first since 2011. CUW won three straight from 2009-2011, and also won the second-ever NACC Women's Cross Country Championship in 2007. The Falcons trail only Aurora (6) in terms of Women's Cross Country NACC Championships.
UP NEXT
- The Falcons will have next week off before running at the NACC Division III Midwest Regionals. The women's race is set for noon, one hour after the men run.
