Cross Country

Category: Cross Country

Bruning, Brisbois lead Vikings at NCAA regional

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Clare Bruning and Jamie Brisbois paced the Lawrence University cross country teams at Saturday’s NCAA Division III Midwest Regional.

Bruning was the top finisher for the Lawrence women as she covered the 6,000-meter course at Saukie Golf Course in 23:21 to finish in 61st place. Led by Bruning, Lawrence finished 13th in the team standings among the 38 teams. The University of Chicago won the women’s title.

Also scoring for the Vikings were Amy Hutchings (71st, 23:28.6), Cora Williams (76th, 23:31.4), Katherine Dannecker (100th, 23:53.2) and Elin Karlsson (107th, 24:05.1).

On the men’s side, Brisbois continued a stellar final month of the season. He finished 91st to lead the Vikings to 18th place in the 39-team field. North Central College won the men’s team title. Brisbois raced to a time of 26:37.5 on the 8,000-meter course.

Following close behind for the Vikings was Kyle Dockery (96th, 26:42.9) and Jonah Laursen (99th, 26:43.9). Rounding out the scoring were Cam Davies (132nd, 27:20.6) and Dan Thoresen (167th, 27:56.3).

Men’s results

Women’s results

Lawrence men grab second, women third at MWC Championships

GRINNELL, Iowa — The Lawrence University men’s cross country team grabbed second and the women took third at Saturday’s Midwest Conference Championships at Oakland Acres Golf Course.

The Lawrence men were second with 58 points, and Grinnell College took the title with 35.

Lawrence had three all-conference runners as Jamie Brisbois, Kyle Dockery and Jonah Laursen finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Brisbois earned all-conference honors for the second time in his career with his third-place finish in 26:04.14. Dockery was next at 26:19.34 and Laursen came in at 26:21.74.

Curran Carlile was 22nd in 27:12.65 and Cam Davies was 27th in 27:22.67 to complete the scoring for Lawrence.

The Lawrence women had four all-conference runners as they finished with 75 points. Grinnell took the title with 56, and Cornell College was second with 57.

Clare Bruning led the way for the women by taking sixth in 23:22.35, and freshman Amy Hutchings was ninth in 23:33.26. Also earning all-conference honors for the Vikings were Cora Williams, who was 19th in 24:06.26, and Liz Landes, who was 20th in 24:10.20. Finishing the scoring for Lawrence was Katherine Dannecker, who was 21st in 24:13.70.

Men’s results

Women’s results

 

 

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings set to take a run at some titles

The Lawrence University cross country program heads to the Midwest Conference Championships this weekend with both barrels loaded.

Both the Lawrence women’s and men’s teams are gunning for the title on Saturday at Oakland Acres Golf Club in Grinnell, Iowa.

“I think both teams have a shot to win,” said Lawrence coach Jason Fast, who saw his men finish second and the women take eighth place in 2012. “I’m more excited for this conference meet more than I have been for any other. To have both the men’s and women’s teams competing for conference titles isn’t something that happens every year. It has the potential to be a very special weekend.”

The Lawrence men figured to be near the top of the league, but it has been the women who are raising eyebrows across the conference. The Lawrence women won the title at the Concordia (Wis.) Falcon Invitational and helped win the combined team title at the Wisconsin Lutheran Invitational.

“Coming into the year I knew we were going to be a lot better,” Fast said of the women’s squad. “As the year went on it became obvious that our returners put in a lot of time over the summer to improve themselves. Combine that with some stellar performances from some freshmen, and that has really made the difference.”

Sophomore Clare Bruning was Lawrence’s lone returning all-conference runner after placing seventh, the top finish by a freshman, in the championships last season. Bruning is again in top form, but the Vikings have had numerous other runners take a step forward.

“Since last year the team has come so far as a whole,” Bruning said. “It’s not just me out front on my own anymore, now there’s a whole pack of us, pushing each other and encouraging each other. We’re really close, on the course in terms of running as well as our team dynamic off the course.”

Bruning is the only Lawrence runner with a top-10 time in the conference, but the Vikings have six runners in the top 20. Lawrence is the only team with that depth up front.

“This is probably one of the more competitive teams I’ve ever seen with regards to having such a tight one-to-seven spread,” Fast said. “We’ve had four different runners finish as our top runner.”

Bruning ranks 10th in the league with a season-best time over 6,000 meters of 23:27, and the rest of the Vikings are tightly bunched behind her. Freshman Amy Hutchings ranks 12th (23:47), sophomore Liz Landes is 13th (23:49), freshman Elin Karlsson is 17th (24:04), sophomore Cora Williams is 19th (24:06) and freshman Kristen Bischel is 20th (24:06).

“Whenever you place your team at or near the front, it’s going to be discouraging to other teams,” Fast said. “That’s definitely our plan, to pack up and push near the front and force teams to beat us or beat whoever we have to in the second half of the race.”

The Vikings’ top-five runners have been separated by as little as 28 seconds and just eight places during a meet this season. Bruning said this team is taking care of each other and they are running like a family.

“I feel like it’s all been building into a crescendo that’s going to culminate at the conference meet this weekend,” Bruning said. “We’re going into it with our eyes on the prize. We have a shot at the title, and we really want it. We’re heading to Grinnell with a goal, and hopefully we’ll return with a trophy.”

The Lawrence men are faced with trying to defeat a talented Grinnell team on its home course. The Vikings do have the firepower to do that, with returning all-conference runners Curran Carlile, Kyle Dockery and Jamie Brisbois and sophomore standout Jonah Laursen.

“On the guys side, we need to have our best race,” Fast said. “I would say our team this year has been a team of wild cards. We could be really good if we could get everybody together on the right day. We’re the only team in the conference that has the potential to beat Grinnell.”

Brisbois is leading the men’s pack right now and was just named the MWC Performer of the Week after turning in the sixth-fastest time in the conference at 8,000 meters (26:40).

“As a team, we have a lot of talent and a lot of as of yet unrealized potential,” Brisbois said. “To be a top-three team and give Grinnell a run for their money, we need our top group of runners to stay together and stay competitive during the tough middle miles of the race.  If we can accomplish this, I think we can do some damage this weekend.”

Swimmers sweep honors

Lawrence swept the conference’s first Swimmer of the Week awards. Hayley Cardinal won the women’s award, and Evan Flack took the men’s award. Cardinal won two events (100-yard breaststroke, 200 individual medley) and swam on a winning relay team (200 medley) as Lawrence opened its season with an impressive 143-54 dual meet victory over Beloit last Saturday. Flack also won two events (100 and 200 freestyle) and swam on a winning relay (200 freestyle) against the Bucs.

Climbing the list

Senior quarterback Luke Barthelmess continues to climb the conference’s career passing yards list and now ranks eighth in league history. Barthelmess passed former St. Norbert stars Cody Craig  (7,181) and Ryan Hartman (7,218) last Saturday and now has 7,256 passing yards heading into this weekend’s home game vs. Grinnell. He is just 65 yards from passing former Ripon star Paul Brandenburg (7,320) for seventh place and just 195 from another former Ripon standout, Eric Rich (7,450).

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Brisbois runs down weekly MWC cross country honor

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University cross country standout Jamie Brisbois has been named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week.

Brisbois (Falcon Heights, Minn./Roseville) took the honor after a stellar performance at the UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational this past Saturday. Brisbois covered the 8,000-meter course at Lake Breeze Golf Club in 26:22.25, which was a personal record for the senior. Brisbois placed 102nd in a field of 566 runners.

Brisbois, who ran to all-conference honors in 2011, posted the sixth-fastest time in the Midwest Conference this season. Led by Brisbois, Lawrence took 23rd place against an elite field at the massive 37-team meet.

Lawrence returns to action on Nov. 2 when it travels to Grinnell College for the Midwest Conference Championships.

Bruning, Brisbois pace Vikings at Brooks Invitational

WINNECONNE, Wis. — Clare Bruning raced to a 90th-place finish to lead the Lawrence University cross country teams at Saturday’s massive UW-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational at Lake Breeze Golf Club.

Bruning covered the 6,000-meter course in 23:28 to lead Lawrence to a 20th-place finish with 595 points in the 37-team field. Amy Hutchings led the pack of Lawrence runners that scored for the Vikings. She was 117th in 23:48 and was followed by Liz Landes (120th, 23:50), Elin Karlsson (132nd, 24:05) and Cora Williams (136th, 24:07).

On the men’s side, the Vikings finished 24th with 703 points. Jamie Brisbois led Lawrence by taking 102nd in 26:23 on the 8,000-meter course.

Kyle Dockery was next for the Vikings as he placed 123rd in 26:41. Rounding out the scoring for Lawrence were: Jonah Laursen (135th, 26:54), Cameron Davies (169th, 27:39) and Curran Carlile (174th, 27:48).

North Central (Ill.) College won the men’s title with 33 points, and Calvin College took the women’s title with 71 points.

Men’s results

Women’s results

Vikings win team title at Wisconsin Lutheran Invitational

WEST ALLIS, Wis. — The Lawrence University cross country team captured the combined team title at the Wisconsin Lutheran College Invitational on Saturday.

Both the Lawrence men’s and women’s teams finished second and posted a combined team score of 185. Trinity Christian College finished second with a score of 207.

On the women’s side, Lawrence finished with 78 points, just two points behind Augustana (Ill.) College, in the 29-team field. Liz Landes led a tightly bunched pack of Lawrence runners. Landes finished 11th and covered the 6,000-meter course in 24:30.2.

Clare Bruning was next for the Vikings, placing 15th in 24:49.2. Following closely behind Bruning were Kristin Bischel (16th, 24:49.5), Amy Hutchings (17th, 24:54.4) and Katherine Dannecker (19th, 24:58.7).

On the men’s side, Lawrence finished with 107 points, and Trinity Christian was first with 60 in a 25-team field. Jamie Brisbois led Lawrence with an impressive fifth-place finish. Brisbois covered the 8,000-meter course in 27:28.7.

Jonah Laursen was next for Lawrence as he finished 19th in 28:13.9. Kyle Dockery was next in 21st in 28:21.5. Rounding out the scoring for the Vikings were Curran Carlile (29th, 28:45.0) and Dan Thoresen (33rd, 28:50.8.

Men’s results

Women’s results

Hutchings, Laursen pace Vikings at Griak Invitational

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Freshman Amy Hutchings and sophomore Jonah Laursen were the top finishers on Saturday for the Lawrence University cross country teams at the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota.

Hutchings finished 70th to lead the Lawrence women to 14th place in the team standings with 428 points. Laursen was 51st and lead the Lawrence men to a 15th-place finish with 381 points.

Hutchings covered the 6,000-meter course in 24:51.8 to pace the Vikings. Clare Bruning was next for Lawrence as she took 73rd in 24:53.9. Also scoring for Lawrence were Liz Landes (78th, 25:00.2), Katherine Dannecker (99th, 25:27.7) and Kristen Bischel (108th, 25:36.2).

Laursen finished the 8,000-meter course in 27:46.7 as he continues his outstanding season. Kyle Dockery was close behind as he finished 64th in 28:07.0. Rounding out the scoring for Lawrence were Curran Carlile (76th, 28:22.2), Cam Davies (81st, 28:27.2) and Dan Thoresen (109th, 29:22.5).

Wartburg College won the women’s team title with 63 points, and UW-Eau Claire won the men’s title with 69 points.

Men’s results

Women’s results

Inside LU Athletics: Lawrence running at full throttle

Jason Fast is a man whose team is following his plan.

The Lawrence University cross country coach has honed how he trains his teams through years of exposure to some of the best coaches in the nation.

Fast has seen adherence to the plan pay off in spades early this season as both of his teams have won a title.

“Their success echoes their commitment to our plan and our program,” said Fast, who has one Midwest Conference championship to his credit in his first four seasons as the head coach. “If you look up and down the line, everyone has gotten so much faster. It’s not just our top runners, it’s everyone on the team.”

That is especially evident with the Lawrence women’s squad. The Vikings finished eighth at the Midwest Conference Championships last season, and had one all-conference runner in seventh-place finisher Clare Bruning.

Bruning, a sophomore, hasn’t finished better than third on her own team in two meets this season. Sophomore Liz Landes turned in the finest race of her career this past weekend at the Concordia (Wis.) Invitational to lead the Vikings. In the opening race of the season at St. Norbert, it was senior Anna Ratliff that led the Lawrence pack.

It has truly been a pack mentality for the Lawrence women, whose top five runners were separated by just seven places at St. Norbert and by just 13 places at Concordia.

“It’s been really fun to watch (the women) race so far. It’s a great feeling to see all seven of your runners together,” Fast said. “They have all managed to stay near each other regardless of how each of them is feeling. There is a strength to their pack. They pull each other along and encourage each other.”

In addition to Bruning, Landes and Ratliff, the Vikings are also seeing fast performances from senior Katherine Dannecker and a pair of rookies, Kristen Bischel and Amy Hutchings. With the strong start, Lawrence now finds itself in a position to be one of the contenders in the conference.

“I don’t see anything really slowing us down,” Fast said. “One of main goals for this next month is to stay healthy and train smart.”

Lawrence finished second in the conference on the men’s side last year, but the Vikings lost former league champion Sam Stevens to graduation. The Vikings did return all-conference runners in Curran Carlile, Jamie Brisbois and Kyle Dockery, and they are building on that foundation.

“All of our returners made big jumps over the summer and made big steps,” Fast said. “They knew they had to. They all took responsibility. I feel like we’re a better team than we were last year, even without Sam.”

Making a huge leap forward has been sophomore Jonah Laursen, who has been Lawrence’s top runner in each of the first two races. Laursen took second on the four-mile course at St. Norbert and then grabbed fourth at Concordia and led Lawrence to the team title. Sophomore Cam Davies also is a runner to watch as he improved on his personal-best 8K time by more than a minute last Saturday.

“Having seen them every day in workouts and what they’re doing, I’m not surprised by what they’re doing on the race course,” Fast said of his teams.

“Both teams have work to do, but we are definitely in position to do good things. We’re also ahead of where we last year at this time.”

Topping 100 again

Lawrence quarterback Luke Barthelmess was named the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for more than 100 yards and passing for nearly 300 in the one-point loss to Lake Forest last Saturday.

Barthelmess also topped the 100-yard rushing mark in the opener against Cornell, and he is the first Lawrence back to rush for more than 100 yards in consecutive games since Craig Ebert did it in the final two games of the 2008 season.

Barthelmess ran 21 times for 124 yards, a 5.9-yard average, against the Foresters. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 284 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The touchdown pass gave Barthelmess 50 for his career, tying him with Eric Aspenson for second place on Lawrence’s career list.

Swords selected

Sophomore outside hitter Terese Swords was named to the all-tournament team at the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Invitational last weekend at Luther College.

For the four matches, Swords hit .320 and piled up 41 kills, an average of 3.4 per set. She also picked up six blocks and 11 digs.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Lawrence runners turn in impressive showing at Concordia Invitational

MEQUON, Wis. — The Lawrence University cross country teams turned in impressive runs at the Concordia (Wis.) Falcon Invitational on Saturday.

The Lawrence women and men swept the team titles among the Division III participants. The Lawrence women finished with 66 points and easily finished ahead of second-place Carroll University, which had 92.

The Lawrence women were paced by Liz Landes, who grabbed fourth place with a time of 23:52. The Vikings then bunched the other scoring runners with Anna Ratliff taking 14th, followed by Clare Bruning (15th), Katherine Dannecker (16th) and Amy Hutchings (17th).

On the men’s side, Lawrence edged Carroll for the team title with 63 points, two points ahead of the Pioneers.

Jonah Laursen raced to fourth place in 26:44 to lead the Vikings. Kyle Dockery was next for the Vikings in eighth place, followed by Cameron Davies (14th), Jamie Brisbois (18th) and Curran Carlile (19th).

Men’s results

Women’s results

Inside LU Athletics: Vikings enter new football season with fresh approach

This is Mike Barthelmess’ second season as the Lawrence University football coach, but it probably feels a lot like starting over again.

The Vikings lost nearly 20 seniors, almost all of which were major contributors, and the coaching staff is almost entirely new as only secondary coach Jeff Jansen returns. The turnover in the coaching staff also hurt recruiting, and the Vikings have only 14 new faces for 2013.

Despite what might seem like long odds for success, Barthelmess has confidence in his players and the coaching staff.

“I know there are people who think we won’t win a game. My expectations are higher than that,” Barthelmess said with a grin.

The Vikings went 2-8 a season ago, but included in that record was a one-point loss, a two-point loss and a four-point loss to conference champion Lake Forest College. With key players back all over the field, the Vikings are being cautiously optimistic.

The offense begins with senior quarterback Luke Barthelmess, the eldest son of the head coach. Luke Barthelmess owns nearly every Lawrence passing record and completed 162 of 304 passes for 2,292 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.

While Luke Barthelmess is an accomplished passer with a Lawrence record 6,057 passing yards to his credit, it’s his feet that may make just as big a difference this season.

“It falls on his shoulders,” Mike Barthelmess said of Luke. “We’re going to probably depend more on his legs this year than we have in the past. We’re going to try to make use of his speed.”

Luke Barthelmess ran 125 times for 423 yards, an average of 3.4 yards per carry last season. With running back Ben Hartman lost to graduation, the Vikings are going to lean on new faces in the backfield, including Isaac Barthelmess, the former Appleton North High School standout and Luke’s younger brother.

“We have three strong running backs (Isaac Barthelmess, Dalton Sendelbach and Corey Fischer),” Mike Barthelmess said. “If we can continue to run the football, if we can split the running between Luke and the backfield, that’s going to help our passing game.”

The passing game also took a hit with the graduation of record-setting receiver Tyler Mazur. Lawrence does have experienced receivers in seniors Taylor Mandich and Dan Dubnicka to soften the blow, and the offensive line has three starters returning in tackles Spencer Swick of Kimberly and Luke Zablocki of Pulaski and center Nic Bouressa of Denmark.

While the offense was solid in 2012, the defense struggled and allowed 45.4 points per game. Mike Barthelmess believes the Vikings will improve on defense this season with a new coaching approach and an influx of talented newcomers.

“Everyone is really trying to work together on the defensive staff. I’m certain that we are going to be better on defense this season. That was a main focus going into this season,” Mike Barthelmess said. “The staff is great. I love my staff. It’s really, really fun going to work every day.”

The defense has All-Midwest Conference defensive back Sam Wagner in the secondary and talented linebackers Andy Paider of Denmark and Brandon Taylor. The defensive line will rotate returners Gabor Bukszar and Brady Busha with newcomers Jackson Straughn and Terrence Huff.

“We have a lot of experience coming back on defense,” Mike Barthlemess said. “We’re hoping that is going to be enough to beef up our defense.”

The key for the Vikings may come down to health. With just 39 players on the roster, Lawrence needs to keep its starters and key reserves on the field all season.

“Our whole philosophy from the beginning is we are going to be grateful for who we have,” said Mike Barthelmess, who said he has told the players to be fearless. “We have to make the best of what we have.”

Bushbacher inks deal with Chill

Former Lawrence University hockey standout Phil Bushbacher has signed a contract to play with the St. Charles (Mo.) Chill.

Bushbacher, a forward who graduated in June with a degree in government, becomes the ninth Lawrence player in the last five years to sign a pro contract.

In two seasons at Lawrence, Bushbacher played in 55 games and piled up 26 goals and 20 assists for 46 points. For his career, he played in 106 games with 42 goals and 33 assists for 75 points.

“He pretty much came into camp, and just dominated the camp,” Chill coach Jamie Rivers said. “He was physical, he put a lot of shots on goal, and he scored a lot of goals. He came in as an unknown, and he earned his spot in training camp.”

The Chill, which plays in the Central Hockey League, is one of 10 teams in that conference.

Laursen earns honor

Lawrence cross country standout Jonah Laursen has been named the Midwest Conference Performer of the Week.

Laursen (Traverse City, Mich./West), a sophomore, took second place at this past Saturday’s Tom Barry Invitational at St. Norbert College. Laursen covered the four-mile course at Colburn Park in Green Bay in 20:52.6. He ran nearly a minute faster than he did at the same meet as a freshman in 2012.

Led by Laursen, Lawrence finished fourth in the team standings with 111 points. This marks the first time in his career that Laursen has earned the conference’s weekly honor.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a notes package written by Lawrence University Director of Athletic Media Relations Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.