Concordia University, Nebraska's Zach Meineke was the individual medalist Saturday at the 2008 Great Plains Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Championships in Hastings, Neb. Teammate Luka Thor followed shortly afterward to earn second.
As a team, however, the Bulldogs were edged out by one point for the championship by Nebraska Wesleyan University. Nebraska Wesleyan scored 38 points, Concordia had 39, and Doane was third with 105 points. The chilly 8K race was run at the Elks Country Club in 32-degree weather and a 20 mile per hour wind.
Concordia and Doane, as the top two NAIA finishers, qualified for the NAIA national championship race in Kenosha, Wis., Saturday, Nov. 22. Nebraska Wesleyan competes as NCAA Division III for its postseason. This will be the Concordia men's seventh consecutive trip to run at nationals.
The top 15 runners in the GPAC race are considered all-conference. Beside Meineke and Thor, Bulldog runners Tyson Billings and Bryan Felker made the all-conference list.
On the women's side, Concordia runners Alicia Marteney finished 13th and Anne Hershberger placed 15th to lead the Bulldogs to a second place team finish. Dordt College's Jen Kempers was the individual medalist and Nebraska Wesleyan was the team champion.
Nebraska Wesleyan's victory came decisively with 65 points. The race for second place was much closer, however, with Concordia finishing just two points better than Doane, 89 to 91.
The women's teams of Concordia and Doane will see each other again at Kenosha in the NAIA national championship race. This will be the Bulldog women's 15th consecutive trip to nationals.