Cross Country Runs at Dean White Invite

The Dana Cross Country team traveled to Crete, Neb., over the weekend to compete in the Dean White Invitational.  The Vikings finished fifth in the men’s team scoring and the women came home sixth.  Creighton University swept the team races. 

Chelsea Fibranz (SO, McPherson, Kan.) led the Vikings for the third consecutive race.  Fibranz finished in seventh place with a time of 20:54.  Tabitha Kabala (SR, Davenport, Iowa) was the next Dana runner to emerge from the pack in 33^rd place with a time of 22:11.  Amy Jackman (JR, Seward, Neb.) finished seconds behind in 38^th place in 22:29.  Veteran runner Jennifer Anderson (SR, Lincoln, Neb.) covered the course in 22:39 for 41^st place.  Christine Bailey (SO, Omaha, Neb.) finished the race in 22:43 for 44^th place.  Rachel Ness (SO, Seward, Neb.) placed 47^th place with a time of 22:57.  Emily Johnson (FR, Sheridan, Iowa) clocked in with a time of 25:26, which placed her 65^th overall.  Ashley Nigh (FR, Omaha, Neb.) ran her first race of the season in 30:25 and placed 69^th overall.

“We were collectively disappointed with their times at first glance,” said Dana Head Coach Marc Bierbaum.  “When we heard the course was at least 300 meters longer than normal our mindset changed.  This probably added a minute to a minute and a half to the times showed.  This showed that we are making progress towards our goals set out at the beginning of the year.” 

The men’s team ran a great race.  The Vikings came within three points of preseason ranked Doane College.  Leading the charge for Dana was Cory Logsdon (SO, Fort Calhoun, Neb.).  Logsdon ran a tremendous race and set a personal record with a time of 26:19.  His time placed him seventh overall on the course that will be the GPAC conference meet.  Eric Bane (SR, Oakland, Iowa) and Andrew Palmblade (SO, Hastings, Neb.) paced each other throughout the race.  Bane finished in 13^th place with a time of 27:19.  Palmblade finished a second behind Bane in 27:20 and in 14^th place. 

“The emergence of Andrew Palmblade continues to give Dana a very strong top three runners,” said Bierbaum.  “This will help us to be able to place higher as a team.”

Kevin Bane (JR, Oakland, Iowa) finished in 24^th place with a time of 28:05.  Bane continued his comeback from a foot injury and set a personal record in this meet.  Mason Lantz (FR, Fairfield, Iowa) and James Gerold (FR, Hastings, Neb.) each finished with a time of 29:05.  The two runners placed 38^th and 39^th respectively.  Justin Nielsen (FR, Omaha, Neb.) was the last runner to count in the team scoring and placed 52^nd with a time of 29:59.  The remainder of the Viking pack were Bryson Pascua (SO, Pearl City, Hawaii), Tyler Petersen (SO, Blair, Neb.), Dan Staehlin (FR, Omaha, Neb.), and Chris Creal (FR, Omaha, Neb.).

“Overall, I think that we ran a great meet,” said Bierbaum.  “The way we ran showed that our pack mentality is starting to make dividends for us.  This was a very successful meet for us.”

The Vikings will hit the road this weekend for the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn.  The Roy Griak is the biggest meet in the region.

For more information contact:  Shad Beam, Sports Information director at 402-426-7389 or sbeam@dana.edu or Francisco Lujan, Assistant Sports Information at flujan@dana.edu

Or 402-426-7949.