Dana Men surprising fifth, Women ninth at GPAC Meet

Dana College played host to the GPAC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 28. It was the first time Dana has hosted the meet since 1996.
Senior John Kaup (Grand Island, Neb.) led the men’s team with a fourth place finish in 26:38. Last fall, the Dana men didn’t have enough runners to qualify for a team score. This year, the men scored 150 points, just 11 points shy of fourth place in the team standings.

Dana’s 2-4 runners finished 23 seconds apart. Freshman Cory Logsdon (Fort Calhoun, Neb.) finished in 33rd place with a 28:02. Close behind was junior Eric Bane (Oakland, Iowa), who placed 37th with a 28:09. Freshman Andrew Palmblade (Hastings, Neb.) ran his best race of the year with a 28:25, good enough for 39th. Freshman Kevin Bane (Oakland, Iowa) rounded out Dana’s scoring with a 57th place finish in 29:25.

On the women’s side, junior Jen Anderson (Lincoln, Neb.) led the way, finishing in 43rd place with a 21:20. The pack was too far back in the race to make a difference in the team standings, however. Freshmen Chelsea Fibranz (McPherson, Kan.) and Rachel Ness (Seward, Neb.) came in next with 52nd and 60th place finishes, running 21:44 and 22:07, respectively. Sophomore Amy Jackman (Seward, Neb.) finished in 76th place with a 22:56. Freshman Christine Bailey (Omaha, Neb./Burke) completed Dana’s scoring with an 84th place finish in 23:31.

Also running on the men’s side were: freshman Tim Kruger (Bellevue, Neb./East) finishing in 30:04, good for 69th place; senior Greg Rickenbacher (Tacoma, Wash.) finished in 88th place with a 31:19; freshman Tyler Petersen (Blair, Neb.) coming off a knee injury finished in 94th place with a 32:44; and sophomore Kiel Montgomery (Indianola, Iowa) placed 96th with a 33:40.

“ To go from not scoring on the men’s side last year to fifth place is really fulfilling. It’s a testament to the training these guys have put in,” Dana Head Coach Derek Fey said.