Top 15 Finish At NCAA Regional Meet
WAVERLY, IOWA (11/16/19)---Concordia posted its best finish at the NCAA Central Region Meet in 16 years as they finished 15th at the final meet of the season held at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
The Cobbers' 15th-place finish represents a 4-place jump from last year at the regional meet and is the highest finish since the 2003 season when they posted a 14th-place finish.
Concordia used the strength of their depth to get into the Top 15 teams. The Cobbers had their Top 5 team scoring finishers all come home in the Top 100 – a feat that hadn't happened for CC since the 2002 season.
Senior Eric Wicklund led the Cobbers for one final team as he finished in the Top 70 in his last college meet. Wicklund covered the 8K course in a time of 27:08 and finished in 69th place. He was only 23 seconds out of a Top 50 finish.
Junior Munir Isahak and freshman Tanner Olson were side-by-side at the finish line. Isahak clocked a 27:17.9 and was the No.76 finisher in the meet. That is a 7-place improvement from his finish at last year's regional meet. Olson, who was the team's No.5 runner at the MIAC Meet two weeks ago, crossed the line in a time of 27:18.5.
The other Top 5 finishers for the Cobbers at the regional meet were Jesse Middendorf and Noah Kneeskern. Middendorf was 93rd in a time of 27:42 and Kneeskern recorded a time of 27:45 and was the No.97 finisher.
Connor Haugrud and Solomon Johnson were the final two members of the Concordia regional squad. Haugrud posted a time of 27:59 and Johnson ran a 29:03 in his first regional meet.
Final Central Region Team Standings
1. Wartburg - 52
2. Carleton - 56
3. St. Olaf - 108
4. St. Thomas (Minn.) - 129
5. Luther - 152
6. Loras - 189
7. Gustavus Adolphus - 230
8. Central College - 245
9. St. John's (Minn.) - 272
10. Simpson (Iowa) - 277
11. Nebraska Wesleyan - 284
12. Hamline - 293
13. Bethel (Minn.) - 319
14. St. Scholastica - 335
15. Concordia-Moorhead - 412
16. Dubuque - 434
17. Macalester - 461
18. Grinnell - 483
19. Cornell College - 562
20. Coe - 613
21. Wis.-Superior - 644
22. Minnesota-Morris - 660
23. Buena Vista - 714
24. Augsburg - 720
25. Martin Luther - 784
26. Northwestern (Minn.) - 842
27. Northland - 848
28. Crown - 869
Concordia Finishers At NCAA Central Region Meet
69. Eric Wicklund - 27:08.0
76. Munir Isahak - 27:17.9
77. Tanner Olson - 27:18.5
93. Jesse Middendorf - 27:42.6
97. Noah Kneeskern - 27:45.5
106. Connor Haugrud - 27:59.4
153. Solomon Johnson - 29:03.7
Saturday recaps sponsored by Bufffalo Wild Wings: Grab your friends and get to B-Dubs on Sunday nights for College Nights at 9 p.m. 50% off 1 food item with ID and $3 apps at the Buffalo Wild Wings located on Hwy 10 in Moorhead.
