Smith Becomes 8th All-Region Award Winner For CC

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (11/12/22)---Senior Leo Smith capped off his outstanding senior season by becoming only the eighth athlete in program history to earn NCAA All-Region honors.

Smith's Top 35 finish helped catapult Concordia to another step up in team competition in 2022. The Cobbers placed 14th at the NCAA North Region Meet on Saturday which was the fourth highest team finish of any MIAC school in the meet. CC improved on its place among conference schools from the MIAC Meet two weeks ago when they finished fifth.

Smith also gives Concordia back-to-back All-Region award winners. He joins All-American Munir Isahak who claimed the award last season. It is the first time in program history that the Cobbers have had two different individuals earn back-to-back All-Region honors.    

Smith upped the ante from his All-Conference Honorable Mention finish at the MIAC Meet where he placed 20th among 169 competitors. On Saturday, Smith clocked a 25:26.7 and finished 31st out of 209 athletes. Smith's time is a personal best, and 35-seconds faster than his time he posted on the same course last season.

Smith also bettered his 2021 finish at the 2021 region race by 21 spots.    

Sophomore Joe Lee matched Smith's timing and finish feats. Like Smith, he also posted a personal best time and improved on his finish from last year's region meet. Lee crossed the line in a time of 26:14.0 which is a PR by 1-second. His 71st-place finish was 11 spots higher than a year ago.

First-year harrier Jonathan Krueger was the team's No.3 finisher. He steadily moved up the finishing list the entire race and posted a huge PR by coming home in a time of 26:22.4 and being the No.78 finisher.

Senior Tanner Olson ran his best race of the season, and recorded his first sub-27-minute finish. He just missed a Top 100 finish with his time of 26:56.5. Olson had a 37-second improvement over his time at the MIAC Meet two weeks ago on a much faster course.

Like the MIAC Meet, freshman Mustafe Abdi was the team's No.5 finisher. He crossed the line in a time of 27:45.2 in his very first NCAA region meet. His mark was his second fastest time of the season.        

Cobber NCAA All-Region Award Winners
2022 - Leo Smith
2021 - Munir Isahak
2011 - Tom Sederquist
2010 - Tom Sederquist
2004 - Nick Myran
2003 - Nick Myran
1992 - Jason Trichler
1991 - Jason Trichler
1987 - Mark Lingle 
1984 - Hans Henrik Pederson
1979 - John  Mutschelknaus