Thomas Knobbe led Gustavus at the NCAA Central Region Meet with a 28th place finish.
PELLA, IOWA – The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s cross country team turned in its best finish at a regional meet since 1992, placing sixth at the NCAA Central Region Meet on Saturday afternoon at Central College. The Gusties tallied 227 points, putting them 39 points behind fifth place Luther College which tallied a 188. St. Olaf College was the meet champion after turning in a score of 62.
“Our men put it together when it mattered most,” said Coach Dale Bahr. “While we didn’t have any outstanding performances, our guys each ran solidly and did so as a team. We beat a lot of those teams that were ahead of us at conference, which was one of our main goals coming into today. We were hoping to shoot up to fourth or fifth, but considering how strong our region is, sixth is a respectable placing.”
Thomas Knobbe (Jr., Decorah, Iowa) and Paul Nordquist (Sr., Edina, Minn.) led the Gusties on the day, as each earned All-Region honors after placing 28th and 34th, respectively. Knobbe finished the 8k race in 26.23.5, while Nordquist crossed the finish line in 26.35.7.
Evan Jones (Jr., Pella, Iowa) was next for the Black and Gold, placing 41st and finishing in 26:43.1, Marcus Speca (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) followed with a 27:10.6, good for 59th, and Carston Dammann (So., Lake City, Minn.) rounded out the scoring by placing 65th in 27:22.0.
“These guys have a passion for what they do and I’m really proud of everything they’ve accomplished this season,” said Bahr. “They believe in each other like a brotherhood, and they run for each other, knowing the guy next to them is doing the same thing. We placed as high as we did this year because the guys bought into what we’re doing. They believe in the Gustie way, which is doing things the right way. Each and every one of them has that same passion and that same expectation for not only themselves, but their teammates.
I’m very excited for our future,” added Bahr. “We have an experienced squad now, and just need to continue being smart, training hard, and helping our new runners figure out the Gustie way. We have an opportunity to continue building on what we did this year, and I’m already excited to see us achieve that.”