Bass Lone Spartan To Qualify For Cross Country Nationals
Nov 10, 2018
WAVERLY, Iowa – The University of Dubuque cross country teams traveled to Waverly, Iowa to run in the 2018 NCAA Division III Central Regional with the men finishing in 15th and women in 23rd. Alec Bass finished sixth among all individuals on the men’s side to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships next weekend.
The Spartan women kicked off the day and Edit Flores and Lucy Syverson paced the way for UD as they have in most of the meets this season. Flores crossed the finish line first for the Spartans, finishing in 114th place in a personal best time of 24:37.15. Syverson also had a career best day, finishing her 6,000 meters in 24:41.77, besting her previous best time by more than 20 seconds. Isabella Mazzanti came in 130th overall and third for the Spartans, in a time of 25:06.43, a career-best time for the junior. As a team, the Spartans finished in 23rd out of 31 teams.
After winning the American Rivers Conference meet two weeks ago, senior Alec Bass grabbed a sixth place finish at the Central Regional to earn A--Central Region honors and qualify for the 2018 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. Bass’ sixth place finish came in 25:09.43, just 18 seconds behind the regional winner. This is the second time that Bass has qualified for the national championships, the first time being in 2016 where he placed 30th.
The first Spartan to follow Bass across the finish line was freshman Mark Biechler, who finished in 72nd in a season best time of 26:32.2. Brandon Sindt was next in 91st in a time of 26:55.73. The freshman Tyler Cernohous rounded out the top four for the Spartans in a time of 26:59.8 and a 97th place finish. As a team, the UD men racked up a score of 380 for a 15th place team finish. The 15th place team finish is the top finish at a regional in men's program history.
Bass will run at 2018 NCAA Championships will be ran at Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisconsin and hosted by UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, November 17th.
Full UD Women’s Results
114. Edith Flores 24:37.15
119. Lucy Syverson 24:41.43
129. Isabella Mazzanti 25:06.43
152. Megan Ely 25:48.34
192. Mackenzie Helgemoe 27:50.81
197. Olivia Costley 29:16.37
198. Danielle Johnsen 29:22.30
Full UD Men’s Results
6. Alec Bass 25:09.5
72. Mark Biechler 26:32.2
91. Brandon Sindt 26:55.8
97. Tyler Cernohous 26:59.8
114. Jacob Heitter 27:14.5
138. Joseph Tobin 27:46.1
161. Michael Orcutt 28:28.6
