Iowa Invitational

Friday, September 16, 2011

Iowa City, Iowa

The University of Northern Iowa men's and women's cross country teams will compete for the third time in 2011 on Friday at the Iowa Invitational. The Panthers and Hawkeyes will clash in a dual meet at Ashton Cross Country Course. The men's 8k event will begin at 6 p.m., with the women's 3k to follow at 6:30 p.m.

Lageschulte Honored by MVC

UNI senior Jill Lageschulte was named the Missouri Valley Conference women's cross country Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Oz Memorial on Sept. 9.

Lageschulte took 20th place in the 6k race hosted by the University of Minnesota, posting a time of 23:52.54 to lead the Panther women. Battling high temperatures, Lageschulte helped UNI to a second-place finish as a team, topping North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Drake among others.

Egan Debuts at Oz Memorial

UNI junior Brett Egan made his 2011 debut by leading the Panther men with a 19th-place finish at the Oz Memorial hosted by the University of Minnesota, completing the 6k course in 19:56.77. After leading UNI across the finish line at Les Bolstad Golf Course, Egan has now finished in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot for the Panthers in every meet in which he has competed in 2010 and 2011.

Vosberg Claims Bulldog Classic Title

UNI senior Aaron Vosberg ran away with the men's individual title at the season-opening Bulldog Classic held in Des Moines on Sept. 2. Vosberg completed the 4k course in 12:41.22 to hold off the rest of the field by nearly seven seconds. He became the first Panther to claim a men's cross country individual title since Thibault Vandenabeele won the Bradley Classic on Oct. 16, 2009.

Making Strides

Three Panther women made significant improvements with their 4k times at the Bulldog Classic (9/2). Junior Scotti Schon, who led UNI with a sixth-place finish, cut 24 seconds off her 4k time from the 2010 version of the Bulldog Classic. Junior Lindsey Wilkins also shaved 24 seconds off her time from 2010, and Allison Fick topped her performance from Drake last season by 47 seconds.

The UNI men accomplished much of the same, with Aaron Vosberg (10 seconds), Brendan Thompson (21 seconds) and David Nielsen (8 seconds) all trimming time off their 2010 performances in the 4k.

Freshmen Debuts

Of the eight freshmen on the UNI women's team, four made their collegiate debuts at the Bulldog Classic on Sept. 2. Alex Wilson (Lisbon, Iowa/Mount Vernon-Lisbon) was the top finisher among the freshmen, taking 11th place overall with a 4k time of 15:51.64. Brittany Bunger (Jesup, Iowa/Jesup) placed 22nd, Haley Stevens (Denver, Iowa/Denver) took 23rd and Shelby Curtis (Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle) finished 28th.

On the men's side, two freshmen saw their first action at the Bulldog Classic. Tanner Reyhons (Waterloo, Iowa/Cedar Falls) was the No. 4 finisher for the Panthers, taking 15th place overall with a 4k time of 13:09.40. Terry Nielsen (Cedar Falls, Iowa/NU High) placed 21st in 13:18.45.

Academic Prowess

The UNI women's cross country team was recognized in May by the NCAA for its latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. The Panthers posted a multi-year APR score in the top 10 percent of all squads in women's cross country.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. It accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.

In addition, Brett Egan was named the inaugural recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference Elite 18 Award as the top scholar-athlete in men's cross country. The 2010 All-MVC Performer was also named to the league's Scholar-Athlete Team.