Nebraska Wesleyan cross country runners performed very well on the highest stage as the NWU women placed 13th and the men 24th at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships held Saturday (Nov. 20) at Max Cross Country Course in Waverly, Iowa.
It marked the second straight season that the Nebraska Wesleyan women finished in the top 15 in the nation. NWU had a team score of 407 to place 13th overall. Leading the way for the Prairie Wolves was junior Malaina Huebert who placed 64th overall in a time of 22:10. She was the lone NWU women's runner to place in the top 100. The next Prairie Wolves to cross the finish line were freshman Ali Tewes (107th), Amanda Costello (126th), Meleia Oestmann (150th) and Hannah Kinberg (154th).
The NWU men, competing in their 14th straight NCAA Championship, finished with 579 points to place 24th. Seniors Ryan Osberg and Kyle Wagner led the Prairie Wolves men in their final race. Osberg crossed the line in a time of 25:38.6 to place 128th, while Wagner ran a time of 25:41 to place 140th. Jordan Rector (151st), Mike Rathje (171st) and Ben Paben (190th) were the next three NWU runners to cross the finish line.
With their streak of 14 straight NCAA appearances, the NWU men now have the fourth longest streak in the nation.
Middlebury won the NCAA III Championship for the women, while Haverford took home the men's championship.
