North Central Men, Wheaton Women Take Home Cross Country Titles

DAVENPORT, Iowa – For the 32nd straight season, the North Central men took home the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin cross country title, while on the women’s side, Wheaton earned its third straight CCIW championship Saturday at the Credit Island Golf Course in Davenport, Iowa.

North Central, who won with a team score of 45, has earned the conference championship every season since 1974 and this year was no exception. The Cardinals took three of the top 10 spots as Chris Bosworth earned the individual title at 24:38.5. Teammates Paul Rollet and Steve Albanese took ninth and 10th with times of 25:08 and 25:08.9 respectively.

Wheaton, who finished second with a team score of 47, kept the race close by picking up three of the top five spots as Matt Field, Brandon Mull and Tim Henry placed second, third and fourth with times of 24:47, 24:56.1 and 24:56.5. Augustana was third with a team score of 55, as Dan Leonard placed fifth (25:02.9), while Adam Houghton (25:07.9) was eighth. Elmhurst placed fourth with a team score of 108 as Mike Ptack finished seventh with a time of 25:05.6.

On the women’s side, Wheaton’s team score of 41 gave the Thunder the conference title behind Marah Borgman’s fifth place finish (22:16.2) and Lisa Baumert’s sixth place finish (22:20.1). In addition, Laura Hillard was ninth with a time of 22:29.4, while Danielle Cuddy was 10th with a time of 22:30.6.

Marisa Mele of Elmhurst won her second straight individual title with a time of 21:37.5, while Melinda Sprague of Illinois Wesleyan finished second (21:52.2), helping her team to a third place finish overall. Teammate Megan Byrne was eighth with a time of 22:25.3.

North Central finished second (55) behind Jessica Griffin’s third place finish (22:02.8) and Amber Druien’s fourth place finish (22:05.2). Shannon McInnis of North Park placed seventh with a time of 22:24.

Full Results