Posted: Oct 23, 2021

North Region Double

October 23, 2021 | by Taylor Pill

STORY

ANKENY, Iowa -- In the inaugural NCCAA North Region Championships, both Maranatha Cross Country teams rolled into Ankeny, executed the race strategy to perfection, and captured both NCCAA North Region titles with just 39 combined points.

The Sabercats Women's Team held off seven-time national champions, Moody Bible Institute, en route to a first-place finish with 24 total points - just nine points shy of the possible minimum. Abby Doak finished second place behind North Central's Elizabeth Lofstad, and Sierra John (4th) and Abby Gilliam (7th) broke into the Top 7 and the subsequent NCCAA North Region All-Region selections. Gilliam's time of 22:34 was good enough to land her in the Program Top 20 - coming in at the 19th-fastest 5K time in program history. Katie Jean Lingle and Lydia Neubert also finished in the top 10 places, coming in at 9th and 10th, respectively.

Ashley Brungard and Katelynn Nutzhorn met the 5K Nationals-qualifying standard in the win, as they both broke the 24:30. This was the first 5K of the season for the squad (thus no PRs listed below for new runners), who used this to establish a point of comparison to the next 5K: NCCAA DII Nationals.

❄️ �� OFFICIAL �� ❄️

With 24 pts and a team time of 1:51:28, we are NORTH REGION CHAMPIONS!

❄️��❄️��❄️��❄️��❄️��❄️ pic.twitter.com/VxfWXgmhHq
— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) October 23, 2021

The Sabercats were the only full squad in the Men's 8K, so the North Region title was theirs by default, as long as they finished the race without disqualification. That didn't stop them from running their fastest time this season - just 2:26:52 as a team. Jeremy Fopma paced Jordan Hoffmann for about the first half the race before pulling away to beat his teammate by a minute and a half. Behind Fopma and Hoffmann came Jefferson Rupert and Josiah Cochran, as the Sabercats swept the top four overall finishes. Drew Smith was closing in and grabbed the 7th and final spot on the All-Region placements, and the Sabercats had executed the game plan to perfection.

On paper, the Sabercats were expected to win both races, but they still executed the game plan, set some season-best times, and created a surge of momentum heading into NCCAA Nationals.

SOUND BITE

"Both teams executed their race strategy very well," said Head Coach John Warnke. "In the women's race, they did a nice job of coming out conservatively but being bold in their positioning and executing tactically throughout the race. In the men's race, they did an excellent job of working together in small packs and passing other runners, and as they did that, it deflated many of their opponents.

"[Winning] definitely is a boost heading into Nationals, having the opportunity to out-perform our opponents in both the men's and women's races by executing aggressive strategies and working together as a team. When we go up against Bob Jones, Alice Lloyd, and Crown, it's important that we have that confidence so we can execute on race day."

OVERVIEW

Event: NCCAA North Region Championships (Ankeny, Iowa/Faith Baptist Bible College)
Men's Finish: 1st/1 - 15 points
Team Time: 2:26:52*
First Runner: 5th - Jeremy Fopma - 27:22 (8K)
Women's Finish: 1st/4 - 24 points
Team Time: 1:51:28
First Runner: 2nd - Abigail Doak - 25:44 (5K)
Host: Faith Baptist Bible College