Cross Country

Mayer, Nehowig, and Ipsen times among fastest in school history

FT. DODGE (October 28, 2007) – The North Iowa Area Community College men’s and women’s cross country teams both finished third at the Region XI meet on Sunday as the Trojans prepared for the National Junior College Athletic Association meet at Rend Lake Community College in Ina, IL on November 10.

Dan Mayer (Redfield/West Central Valley) placed sixth overall on the men’s side, running the 8,000-meter course in 25 minutes, 48.4 seconds. It was the third best clocking in NIACC history and earned the sophomore second-team All-Region honors. David Barmasai of Iowa Western Community College won individual honors with a 24:23.9 clocking, edging Iowa Central Community College’s Steven Dak (24:30.2).

NIACC teammates Juan Rodriguez (Bogota, Colombia) and Seth Blanchard (Charlotte/NE Goose Lake) placed 13th and 16th individually with times of 27:37.8 and 27:56.8 respectively. Sean Coleman (Imperial, MO/Seckman) was 22nd in 28:18.3 and Sam Meyer (Wykoff, MN/Kingsland) was 25th in 28:23.3 for head coach Curtis Vais’ team. All four earned honorable mention All-Region honors.

Iowa Central won the team title with 22 points, followed by Iowa Western (52) and NIACC (74) as seven squads were represented.

In the women’s race, 5,000 meters in length, Kacy Nehowig (Paynesville, MN/HS) placed eighth overall in 20:24.1 to lead all NIACC runners. Kelly Ipsen (Homestead/Iowa Valley) was 10th in 20:37.9. They had the second and third best times ever in NIACC women’s cross country history, said Vais. Lydia Kosgei of Iowa Central won individual honors with a clocking of 18:07.2.

Magen Krones (Mason City/Newman Catholic) was 14th in 21:47.7 and Steph Wedo (Castalia/Postville) finished 18th in 23:29.0 for NIACC, which had 50 points as a team to finish just behind Iowa Western (43). Iowa Central had 12 points to win team honors.

NIACC entered the Region XI meet ranked 22nd in the men’s national ratings and tied for 25th in the women’s poll. Mayer has one of the top times individually in the NJCAA for 8,000 meters while Nehowig and Ipsen have had nationally-rated times in both 5,000-meter and 6,000-meter races. The NJCAA races are set at 8,000 meters for the men and 5,000 meters for the women.