Kaup qualifies individually for NAIA National Meet

Dana competed in the Region III Championship Cross Country Meet Nov. 4 at Sioux Falls, S.D. The men’s team finished seventh overall, while the women placed 14th.

Senior John Kaup (Grand Island, Neb.) finished eighth overall with a 25:14, good enough to qualify him individually for the national meet. The top seven individuals that are not a member of a national qualifying team qualify for the Nov. 18 meet in Louisville, Ky.

Nearly all of the men saw personal bests fall at the meet. Junior Eric Bane (Oakland, Iowa) finished 48th with a personal best 26:47. The next four Dana runners were all freshmen and all set season bests. Cory Logsdon (Fort Calhoun, Neb.) and Andrew Palmblade (Hastings, Neb.) finished 57th and 58th overall with times of 27:11 and 27:12, respectively. Kevin Bane (Oakland, Iowa) rounded out Dana’s scoring with a 99th place finish in 28:13 Tim Kruger (Bellevue, Neb./East) destroyed his previous personal best with a 28:44, good enough for 111th place.

Senior Greg Rickenbacher (Tacoma, Wash.) finished in 127th place with a 29:54. Freshman Tyler Petersen (Blair, Neb.) placed 135th with a 30:55, and sophomore Kiel Montgomery (Indianola, Iowa) ran his strongest race of the year, dominating the final two miles to place 145th with a 32:39.

The women’s team experienced a similar race to the GPAC meet, as they found themselves a bit too far back in the race early. Junior Jen Anderson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Lutheran) led the women with a 65th place finish in 20:45, a season best. Freshmen Chelsea Fibranz (McPherson, Kan.) and Rachel Ness (Seward, Neb.) again finished close to one another, placing 95th and 98th with times of 21:27 and 21:35, respectively. Freshman Christine Bailey (Omaha, Neb./Burke) ran the best race of her young career, placing 110th with a 22:25. Sophomore Amy Jackman (Seward, Neb.) rounded out the scoring with a 112th place finish in 22:30.

“ This has been a great group of runners to coach. You couldn’t ask for anything more as far as attitude, cohesion, and dedication,” Head Cross Country Coach Derek Fey said. “It’s tough to leave this group, but their futures are very bright. I’m excited to see where they go from here.”