Top 2 And No.2 On The Shores Of Lake Superior

DULUTH, Minn. (10/08/11)—Concordia staged a three-team battle for the championship at the Pine Hill Invite hosted by the University Minnesota of Duluth on Saturday. The Cobbers were edged by Winona State for the team title but came away with the top two individuals at the meet as Tom Sederquist won the event and teammate Tanner Sakrismo finished second.    

The team raced was decided in the closing meters of the race. In a matter of seconds, Concordia surpassed the UMD Bulldogs only to be nipped by the Warriors from Winona State in a three way dog fight. After the dust settled Winona came out on top with 43 points, followed by the Cobbers with 45, and UM-Duluth with 48.

Sederquist ran away with an easy victory as he won by over one minute. He finished in a time of 25:30 and controlled the race before the first of four 2k circuits had finished. The real surprise of the day for CC was Sakrismo who blazed the last section to paw his way into second place in the closing meters. Sakrismo's time of 26:48 is another :30 second drop from his lifetime best at the Griak Championship on Sept. 24.

"Tanner's improvement has been phenomenal this year!  He's now a serious threat to land a top 25 spot at the MIAC Championship in three weeks," commented head coach Garrick Larson.

The Cobbers' No. 2-5 runners all set personal best times on the flat, but legitimate, 8000-meter course. Concordia's No.3 runner Ryan Sederquist clocked a 27:33, Jake Stunek was No.4 in 27:42, and John Amundson finished in 28:34 to become the team's No.5 runner.

The Cobbers will take their top group to the UW-Oshkosh Pre-National meet next weekend, October 15. The meet will host over 50 of the top NCAA Division III runners in the country.