LINCOLN, Neb. ? Indiana State's men won their third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship while the women ran to a fifth-place finish. The Sycamores also garnered four all-conference citations and men's head coach John McNichols picked up his fifth cross country coach of the year award.

“The race was closer than we anticipated,” McNichols said after the race. “We were without some guys that we had expected to race, but Jeremy Kunz and Dave Santelik really came through for us in this win.”

The men finished with 50 points, followed closely by Drake (63) and Southern Illinois (71). The finish included three all-conference performances by seniors Sean Bowman (25:09) and Justin Kunz (25:12) in third and fourth, respectively and red-shirt freshman Scott Keeney in eighth with a time of 25:22.

“We were all determined to get the title and run well as a team,” Kunz said of the team's effort. Bowman and Kunz entered the race as ISU's best shot at an individual title, but Southern Illinois' Mohamed Mohamed broke from the pack at the 5k and never looked back.

Keeney's all-conference finish could translate into a continued dominance by Indiana State when it comes to cross country, particularly with a healthy Blaine Zimmerman, Antonio McDaniel (both all conference in 2005) and Kyle Walsh running for the Sycamores in 2007.

“I think we will be just as competitive next year,” Keeney said. “We could have a chance at a four-peat, but we know that Drake and Southern Illinois will also be coming back just as strong.”

The title is the 12th for the men's track & field/cross country program during McNichols' tenure at Indiana State. The total equals the amount of team titles accumulated by the women over the same span. The women still lead the men with four individual titles, while the men are still looking for their first.

In 2006, the women were led by senior Laura Engle garnering all-conference honors with a ninth-place finish, crossing the line of the 5k course with a time of 18:14. Fellow senior, Dani Prince finished close behind in 14th with a time of 18:31.

“I'm disappointed in the overall result,” women's head coach John Garland said. “We were hoping to break into the top three, but just weren't as strong as those top teams.”

Despite the outcome, Gartland acknowledged the strong running of Engle and Prince and said Emily Pugh's 19:15 time on the course was a “break-through” for the red-shirt freshman. Another freshman, Kayla Alexander finished as the third runner for the Sycamores with an 18:56 performance, finishing 27th.

The course proved to be one of the most challenging for the Sycamores during the season with multiple turns and hills testing the runners.

“The course was one of the most difficult of the season,” Engle said after finishing. “We gave it a good effort today, but the outcome was definitely not what we wanted.”

Prince echoed her teammate's sentiments when she said, “We are disappointed because we wanted to place higher. But we know we couldn't have given any more than what we did.”

Wichita State's women ran away with the title, placing four athletes in the top ten with a dominating 38 point effort. The Shockers were trailed by Southern Illinois in second (80), Missouri State in third (83) and the Panthers of Northern Iowa in fourth (90).

Both teams will now look to run strong at the Regional Championship in two weeks with a chance to compete in the NCAA Championships. The Sycamores will host the capstone of the NCAA cross country season for the third consecutive year at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course on November 20.

Men's Results (Team)

1. Indiana State
3 4 8 15 20 (22) (23) = 50
2. Drake
7 9 13 16 18 (26) (47) = 63
3. Southern Illinois
1 10 11 19 30 (50) (54) = 71
4. Wichita State
6 14 24 36 41 (43) (44) = 121
5. Northern Iowa
2 17 27 38 53 (55) (58) = 137
6. Bradley
12 29 32 33 45 (57) = 151
7. Evansville
5 31 37 40 48 (49) (51) = 161
8. Illinois State
25 28 34 39 42 (56) (61) = 168
9. Creighton
21 35 46 52 59 (60) (62) = 213

Men's Results (Individual)

1 Mohamed, M. SO S. Illinois 24:56.85
2 Ulrey, Dorian FR Northern Iowa 25:07.05
3 Bowman, Sean SR Indiana St. 25:09.45
4 Kunz, Justin SR Indiana St. 25:12.45
5 Waninger, Nick SR Evansville 25:15.75
6 Azis, Girts JR Wichita St. 25:19.75
7 Cooper, Nick SR Drake 25:21.25
8 Keeney, Scott FR Indiana St. 25:22.10
9 Nesheim, S. SR Drake 25:25.15
10 Doran, Kevin JR S. Illinois 25:33.10
15 Kunz, Jeremy SR Indiana St. 25:57.30
20 Santelik, D. JR Indiana St. 26:12.05
22 Messmann, J. FR Indiana St. 26:22.05
23 Walsh, Kyle JR Indiana St. 26:23.20
35 Placeneia, R. FR Indiana St. 26:45.45

Women's Results (Team)

1. Wichita State
2 4 6 7 19 (25) (40) = 38
2. Southern Illinois
10 11 16 17 26 (35) (46) = 80
3. Missouri State
5 12 20 22 24 (50) (58) = 83
4. Northern Iowa
3 8 13 30 36 (48) (51) = 90
5. Indiana State
9 14 27 34 37 (41) (62) = 121
6. Bradley
15 28 29 39 45 (49) (67) = 156
7. Illinois State
21 23 31 38 47 (53) (60) = 160
8. Drake
1 32 44 54 56 (57) (65) = 187
9. Creighton
18 33 43 52 55 (66) (68) = 201
10. Evansville
42 59 61 63 64 (69) (70) = 289

Women's Results (Individual)

1 Anklam, A. SR Drake 17:36.80
2 Baldwin, C. JR Wichita St. 17:40.30
3 Hawley, Traci JR Northern Iowa 17:51.70
4 Becker, Sarah SR Wichita St. 17:58.10
5 Wolkey, K. SO Missouri St. 18:03.15
6 Land, Mica JR Wichita St. 18:05.30
7 Lemon, Kimber JR Wichita St. 18:10.20
8 Schrunk, C. SO Northern Iowa 18:13.40
9 Engle, Laura SR Indiana St. 18:14.10
10 Rinker, Sarah SR S. Illinois 18:21.25
14 Prince, Dani SR Indiana St. 18:31.45
27 Alexander, K. FR Indiana St. 18:56.40
34 Pugh, Emily FR Indiana St. 19:15.50
37 Durr, Leah SR Indiana St. 19:21.65
41 Costello, J. SO Indiana St. 19:31.00
64 Engle, Sarah SR Indiana St. 20:41.50

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