Men’s and women’s Cross Country claim IIAC championship titles

The Norse Cross Country teams competed in the Iowa Conference Championship in Dubuque, Iowa Oct. 30. Both the men’s and women’s varsity and junior varsity teams were successful.

The men’s team captured their fifth consecutive and 32nd overall Iowa Conference Championship.

Luther finished with 57 points in the eight-kilometer race, four ahead of Loras College. Four men finished in the top 15, qualifying them for all-conference honors.

Eric Johnson (‘11) finished third overall with a time of 26:10.9, putting him in an elite group of Luther runners that has earned all-conference four times.

This is the third time receiving honors for Shane Steele (‘12) and the first for Evan Neubauer (‘13) and Scott Mittman (‘14). Men’s Head Coach Steve Pasche was named Iowa Coach of the Year for the fifth time.

The women’s team also won the title of Iowa Conference Champions, finishing with 28 points in the six-kilometer-race, nine points ahead of two-time champion Wartburg College. Five women placed in the top 10, and eight placed in the top 15.

Emma Spoon (‘12) took first place with a time of 22:28.5 and earned her first MVP award and all-conference ranking. She was Luther’s first conference champion and MVP since 2007. Ellie Neubauer (‘11), Kim Horner (‘11), Christina Storlie (‘13), Sarah Lundine (‘11), Julia Schiefelbein-Egan (‘11) and Melissa Erickson (‘12) also qualified for all-conference. Typically the top 15 scorers are named all-conference. Anna Murray (‘12), who placed 15th with seven Luther women before her, was not awarded all-conference because of a technicality. The 16th finisher, Wartburg’s Laura Sigmund, was given the last medal. In a gesture of good sportsmanship, Sigmund gave the medal back to Murray.

“We had eight [women] in the top fifteen, but only seven are eligible for honors,” Steve Pasche said. “It was of no fault of [Anna’s], it was not because she wasn’t running fast enough. As for what happened, it is pretty cool to see great sportsmanship that way.

“It is a beautiful thing that out on the cross country course, people can run hard, take on challenges of the course itself, see the individual and team aspect to it, have a lot of aspirations and goals that may come together in different ways, but they can finish the day and have enough respect for a competitor to do something like that.”

Women’s Head Coach Yarrow Pasche was also awarded her third Coach of the Year title.

Luther’s victories at the Iowa Conference Championships are nothing new. Luther Cross Country has become a perennial powerhouse.

“I think we have a really strong tradition that was present here before Steve and I came,” Yarrow Pasche said. “That is helpful. We also have a lot of people that are excited to become long distance runners.”

“With that tradition behind you and culture within the team, it builds and feeds on itself. It really keeps that momentum going from season to season,” Yarrow Pasche said.

Even with a strong past, the cross country teams continue to push themselves and train hard every year.

“Looking back to our conference championship last year, it isn’t like connecting the dots,” Steven Pasche said. “We had to go through another cycle of seasons, people taking downtime, building, people going through trials, and finally coming around. There is a story in between there, and every year things are a little different.”

Members of the cross country team start training when school has barely let out in the summer.

“Both the men’s and women’s teams prepare really well to run our best at meets and that starts in June.” Yarrow said. “Our preparations include recovering after the track season and building up our milage and our aerobic base during the summer, wherever we happen to be. That builds a foundation for our season, for the championships.”

Luther hosted the women’s and men’s JV cup on Nov. 5.

Norse Women’s JV won the JV cup. Eight finished in the top 15. Men’s JV finished second of three with five in the top 15.

The next major competition will take place on Nov. 13, when the teams will travel to Waverly, Iowa for the NCAA III Central Regional.

“It was a really strong day,” Steve Pasche said. “We did a lot of things really well, and we could do some things even better. That is exciting as we look ahead to our championship