Vikings Compete at Roy Griak

Minneapolis, Minnesota ~ The Dana College Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams participated in one of the nation’s largest cross country meets over the weekend.  Some of the top teams from all levels competed in this race.  The meet was divided into three divisions to allow schools to compete with teams on their own level.  The women’s team finished 28^th out of 30 teams competing in the Maroon II division.  The men’s side finished 21^st out of 25 teams in the Maroon II division.

Chelsea Fibranz (SO, McPherson, Ken.) continued her great fall campaign.  Fibranz placed 77^th in the meet with a time of 24:59. 

“Chelsea ran a great race against a tough field on a tough course,” said Head Coach Marc Bierbaum.  “She was aggressive from the start.”

The Vikings then had five runners place within thirty seconds of one another.  Christine Bailey (SO, Omaha, Neb.) finished in 162^nd place with a time of 27:08.  Senior Tabitha Kabala (Davenport, Iowa) finished in 165^th place in a time of 27:13.  Another Viking senior Jen Anderson (Lincoln, Neb.) was on Kabala’s heels with a time of 27:17 and in 166^th place.  Rachel Ness (SO, Seward, Neb.) covered the course in 27:34, good enough for 171^st place.  Amy Jackman (JR, Seward, Neb.) and Emily Johnson (FR, Sheridan, Ark.) were the final two Viking runners with times of 28:08 and 30:59 respectively.

“This was great competition for our runners,” said Bierbaum.  “The women know this was a tough race and are challenging themselves to do that in the next meet.  We have a couple runners who are battling through injuries and once they are healthy our team will be very solid.”

Cory Logsdon (SO, Fort Calhoun, Neb.) continued his strong performance for the Viking men.  Logsdon covered the 8-kilometer course in a time of 27:16 and finished in 53^rd place.  Eric Bane (SR, Oakland, Iowa) was the only other Viking in the top 100 with a time of 28:00 and in 96^th. 

“Eric was the only member of our team with big race experience like this,” said Bierbaum.  “I think he helped the younger runners to be ready for a pace like this meet provided.”

Andrew Palmblade (SO, Hastings, Neb.) finished the tough course in 110^th place with a time of 28:09.   Kevin Bane (SO, Oakland, Iowa) finished is 146^th place with a time of 29:37.  James Gerold (FR, Omaha, Neb.) covered the 8-kilometer course in 30:00 and finished 159^th.  Mason Lantz (FR, Fairfield, Iowa), 160^th place, and Bryson Pascua (SO, Pearl City, Hawaii), 165^th place, finished in the last two placing spots for the Vikings with times of 30:06 and 30:42 respectively.  Rounding out the Dana runners were Dan Staehlin (FR, Omaha, Neb.) and Tyler Petersen (SO, Blair, Neb.).  Chris Creal (FR, Omaha, Neb.) was unable to finish the meet due to injury.

“I thought the men handled this meet pretty good for the first time,” said Bierbaum.  “It was a huge experience for these newcomers to college cross country.  I thought the men had a bit of an off day.  We are a young team and this was a big race. They will continue to only run better.”

The Vikings will travel to Sioux City, Iowa, this weekend for the Briar Cliff Invitational.  The women’s race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and the men will follow at 10:45 a.m.

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.