By Emilio Gomez

gomezemi@grinnell.edu

The Grinnell Pioneer men’s cross country team reclaimed its dominance among the Midwest Conference this past Saturday capturing their 25th MWC Championship in the past 27 seasons in De Pure, Wisconsin.
The Pioneers, led by individual champion Frank Canady ’14, cruised to a decisive victory defeating runner-up Lawrence University by 60 points. The team competed

with a chip on their shoulder to repent for shortcomings from last year’s conference performance.
“We lost [conference] for the first time last year in 15 years,” said runner Sam Krauth ’14. “So it’s kind of been hanging over our heads all season.”
The Pioneers overall placed six runners in the top 12 with seven qualifying as All-Conference honorees. Leading the pack was individual champion Canady, becoming the fourth Pioneer in the past five seasons to capture an individual MWC title with a time of 25:21.9 for the eight-kilometer race.
“He’s a great runner with a great work ethic,” Krauth said.
Krauth also noted Canady’s new direction in his training regimen.
“He’s trained a lot smarter than he has in the past, when it comes to staying healthy and not overworking himself,” he said, “and it clearly paid off.”
Joining Canady as All-Conference runners were Erik Figge ’13 placing fourth in 25:46.5, Nate Kolacia ’16 placing eighth in 26:00.3, Krauth placing ninth in 26:02.1, Ben Tyler ’14 placing 11th in 26:05.2, Adam Dalton ’16 placing 12th in 26:05.2 and Kyle Moorehead ’15 placing 15th with a time of 26:09.7.
Krauth, who ran a personal best time at conference, credited his success in part due to competing closely alongside his teammates.
“A big factor for me why I ran well was I had four or five teammates right there alongside me,” Krauth said, “when you have that many teammates right there, you gain a lot of confidence.”
The Pioneers are now preparing for the NCAA Regional Championships that will take place November 10th in Northfield, Minnesota. In these upcoming weeks before the meet, the team will prepare to stay the course with respect to their training routine.
“We’re in shape right now,” Krauth said, “We’re just kind of trying to maintain, the key is just to not get injured.”
The Grinnell men will enter the NCAA Regional Championships carrying considerable momentum and confidence built off their commanding performance at the MWC Championships. The Pioneers feel poised to make a run at qualifying for this year’s NCAA National Championships.
“We feel pretty confident,” Krauth said. “We’re one of eight or nine teams that can potentially qualify for nationals … Our goal is to go after the top team.”
The Grinnell women’s cross country team fought through adversity this past Saturday, overcoming illness and injury en route to a third place finish at the MWC Championships. The team tallied a total of 69 points, 18 behind champion St. Norbert.
“[It’s] a little upsetting”, said runner Diana Seer ’15, “We were going in hoping to win… [Because of] sickness and some injures, we couldn’t really finish.”

Sarah Burnell ’14 brought home an individual championship to Grinnell College becoming the first Pioneer women’s cross country runner to capture an MWC Championship since 2007. Burnell clocked in a time of 22:04.5 for six kilometers, three seconds over her personal best and sped to a commanding victory over defending MWC champion Megan O’Grandy of Carroll University by over 20 seconds.
Burnell’s influence goes beyond the track, serving as a team leader, motivator and mentor.
“Sarah’s a phenomenal athlete and an amazing runner,” Seer said. “She’s very inspirational to all the runners because she’s so focused.”
Seer battled through illness earlier this season, but finished the MWC championships on a high note, placing 16th with a time of 25:53.3, earning her All-Conference honors.
“I was really pleased,” Seer said, “Last year I missed All-Conference by one place, so that was really my biggest goal was to be All-Conference and I did that with my 16th finish.”
Stephanie Rouse ’13 joined Seer and Burnell as an All-Conference honoree placing fourth for the Pioneers with a time of 22:42.2. Metzere Bierlein ’13 placed 23rd in 24:14.7. Jesse McNealy ’16 placed 25th in 24:19.7. Paulina Campbell ’16 placed 32nd in 24:39.9 and Cassidy White ’14 came in 34th in 24:42.1.
The Pioneer women’s team is now turning their focus the NCAA Regional Championships set to take place November 10 in Northfield, Minnesota. Grinnell stands as a strong contender entering regionals carrying with them a victory over MWC champion St. Norbert earlier this season.
“Were just gonna keep our head in the game. We have a lot of hard practices coming up to keep us physically and mentally prepared as well,” Seer said. “We’re just gonna keep staying on our goals… We wanna win.”