XC Times October 14, 2017 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
The Jim Drew & Tore Neubauer Invitational XC Times Editorial Board
The Women’s Race I can’t tell you how excited I am to see how our women run Saturday. Except for Audrey Klein and Kate Deidrick, everyone is healthy and happy. At Wartburg, even though we were a little shorthanded, the women ran outstanding. There were so many bright spots, but I’d just like to name a few. Sadie Timms gave us all a hint on just how good she is going to be as we enter championship season. I have dubbed Shelby Hunemiller “the Deer Hunter” as she has a way of gaining radar lock on an opponent and tracking them down. This week we will have Mary Wood with us and I can’t wait to see how our team stacks up with some of the best teams in the Midwest! Men’s Race Coming off our best two weeks of training, we’re thrilled to have another opportunity to put on the Simpson jersey. This will be our second 8k of the season as we competed in our first one two weeks at the Dan Huston Invite. My hope is that our team can show tremendous progress from our first 8k to our second one. This meet will showcase many of the top teams in the region and we are looking forward to seeing how our team stacks up in such a loaded field. UW-La Crosse hosts a wonderful meet each year, and we’re thrilled to be going back and participating. It will take our best race of the season to accomplish our team goals for this week and I’m excited to see our men compete. This will be our last dress rehearsal for the upcoming conference meet.so it’s important we race well! It’s time to get to work!
XC Times October 14, 2017 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
Who Are Jim Drew and Tore Neubauer? Huston remains the school record holder in the men’s Jim Drews 3,000-meter steeplechase He Jim Drews(9:02.81). graduated in 1974 from became UW-La Crossethe he earned four letters each in cross country college’s first individualwhere All-American in NAIA men’s and track. He was a three-time All- track and Drews was a four-time WSUC cross field with a third-placeAmerican. steeplechase finish at track the 1984 country champion and a 14-time WSUC champion. He was named the NAIA District 14 NCAA Division III outdoor meet. He earned all-Iowa most valuable player in track and cross country. Conference honors innational crossfinishcountry times and was In cross country, Drews best was sixth in three 1971. Drews was UW-La Crosse's top finisher in every cross country meet he ran in. He was a Floyd named an Academic All-American in 1984. He later Gautsch Award winner in cross country. began marathons student atYear, Georgetown Alongrunning with being named the 1979 Greenas BayaArea Athlete of the Drews qualified for the 1980 Olympic Marathon Trials. Drews taught physical education University Law School. Huston enters theforHall of Fame for 11 years at Green Bay East where he coached cross country five years and track for three years. posthumously. After completing his law degree, he worked in the Washington, D.C., firm of Reid & Priest. Tori Neubauer Arguably the best female runner in UW-L history, Tori Muesing set numerous He died Sept. 9,her1994, victim of fatal school records on way to 10the national titles in cross country gunshot and track. A 13-wounds time All-American, Muesing lettered in both sports all four years, from 1980-1984. sustained during an attempted carjacking of his vehicle. In cross country, she led the team to the NCAA III title in 1983, the runner-up ? spot in 1982 and two conference championships. In outdoor track Muesing led the team to three national championships--AIAW III in 1982 and NCAA III in 1983 and 1984. Also, she led the indoor and outdoor track teams to numerous conference titles. She was the MVP of the 1984 indoor NAIA national meet and qualified for the Olympic trials in '84 and '88. In 1994, UW-L named its women's home cross country event the Tori Neubauer Invitational.
XC Times October 14, 2017 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
Behind the Ropes “It’s Always A Great Day to Run” By Wes and Kendra Roquet As parents, we had no idea what to expect when our girls decided to join the cross country team at Simpson. Lesley and Kelsey had had a successful four years of running at Oskaloosa High School. They had been blessed with a great group of coaches, teammates and parents during those years. As it turns out, Simpson has been just as rewarding of an experience for our girls! Their growth has not only been noticeable in their running, but more importantly they have grown in the classroom. It takes a special group of kids to balance athletics and academics! Not only has Simpson been successful on the cross country course, but year after year, the team GPA is one of the best in the nation. The past four years have gone by so fast. Lesley and Kelsey’s competitive running is just about to come to a close. It is satisfying as parents to see how much hard work and dedication it takes to be a runner. All summer long they would get up at sunrise to run their mileage, go to work all day and come home and do more conditioning workouts. During the season they have had to fight the elements and injuries.. We have seen scorching hot weather, pouring down rain, wind, and even some freezing cold meets. They have both fought through injuries, daily aches and pains and a lot of time and sweat. But we have seen all this hard work build so much strength and character. They have been encouraged by their coaches and teammates to keep going even when it would have been easy to quit. Lesley and Kelsey’s choice to attend Simpson and run cross country has been a great decision. They are prepared for their future thanks to all the time they have spent in the classroom, as well as their time spent running with the team. We continue to feel blessed as parents that they have had such a great group of teammates, parents and coaches during their years at Simpson. As their college days come to an end, may they always remember what their high school coach used to say, “it is always a great day to run”!
XC Times October 14, 2017 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
In the Chute By Trey Thompson
While in high school, it was my goal to be on a college cross country team. I worked hard my last two years to make sure that happened. When I visited Simpson College, I met some great people and I knew right away this is where I want to be for the next four years. Looking back on it, I am glad I have chosen this group. They are fun to be around every day and they make me feel included in something bigger than myself. It is truly humbling to be around a group of people who love to run, work hard, engage in academics, and support one another. When I first arrived on campus, I was nervous going to camp and being around multiple people who I did not know. I remembered a couple from my visit and I knew Heath. I was pretty quiet and did not want to step on any toes in my first few weeks. Everyone was welcoming and inclusive and it helped me open up to them. Some seniors and other runners began to encourage me to run with them during workouts and long runs. They showed me what it meant to transition from being a high school athlete to being a collegiate runner. They saw things in me that I didn’t even knew I had. During workouts and races, they helped my find my strengths and use them to help the team. Now being an upperclassman, I see the team from a different angle. I know what all of the workouts are, what the race courses are like, routes around town, and the Simpson cross country culture among other things. Now I get to see the talent in younger athletes that they may not know they have yet and it’s my turn to exploit them. The focus is beginnig to turn from learning to teaching. I am excited to see what this team can do and rise above the expectations. This year has been the best yet and it can only get better!
XC Times October 14, 2017 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
Coaches Heath Moenk My passion for the sport developed at an early age as I grew up cheering for my two older brothers as they competed for Webster City High School’s cross country team. Seeing them and their team have success, made me want to be a part of the program when I reached high school as well. We were all very fortunate to have a coach who cared for everyone on the team, and this first experience planted the seed for me. He made a difference in many lives by caring and respecting all of his athletes. Distance running was a major part of my life and I knew once I graduated from Webster City I didn’t want to a hang up my spikes for good. I ended up attending the University of Iowa and was a four year cross country and track and field member for the Hawkeyes. Here I was fortunate enough to have another impactful coach, Larry Wieczorek. Coach “Wiz” was awesome and showed me that once again caring for his athletes was the number one job of a good coach. While at Webster City, I was fortunate to have some success at the state level, this wasn’t the case for me running in the Big Ten. Still, Coach Wiz made me feel like I was a vital team member and still gave me his absolute best. After graduating from Iowa in 2008, I knew I didn’t want to leave the sport that had provided me with so many wonderful memoires and experiences. I was fortunate enough to be hired at Augustana University In Sioux Falls, SD and then the University of St. Thomas in St Paul, MN. I had the privilege of working for two very successful coaches at both of these stops and they inspired me to explore being a head coach. In 2011 I was lucky enough to be hired here at Simpson College, and have enjoyed every year since. Simpson is a special place with special student-athletes. I’ve had the opportunity to coach many extraordinary students these past seven XC seasons and I tried to carry on the lessons I’ve learned from my days in Webster City and at the University of Iowa each one of them. I’ve never been more excited for the future of our programs here at Simpson with the addition of two new coaches. Coach Kirby and Coach Busby have been tremendous thus far, and are going to help our squad’s greatly moving forward!
XC Times October 14, 2017 – THE NEWS XC FANS DEPEND ON – A GANNETT COMPANY
Our Next Meets Saturday October 28th IIAC Conference Meet Wartburg College Waverly, IA
Down the Road Saturday November 11th 11:00am NCAA Central Region Championships Northfield, MN Saturday November 18th 11:00am NCAA National Championships Elsah, IL Simpson Storm X-Country
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Women’s 6K Course Map
Men’s 8K Course Map