Kortze runs to GPAC, NAIA national honors
NAIA Release
Returning senior All-American Sarah Kortze added two more honors to her growing list of achievements on Wednesday. Concordia’s Kortze collected both the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week and NAIA National Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week awards for her performance at the Sept. 15 Woody Greeno Invite.
“I was pretty excited. That was the fastest I’ve ever run a 6K,” Kortze said of her finish at the Greeno Invite. “It’s just a really fun meet. I really enjoy the Woody Greeno course.”
The Rockford, Ill., native’s time of 21:54.88 in the 6K placed her seventh overall among the field of 289 competitors, including many from the GPAC and NCAA Division I schools. Her performance landed her ahead of all GPAC and NAIA participants at the Greeno Invite.
“Sarah had one of the best races a Concordia female has ever had on a 6K course,” cross country head coach Kregg Einspahr said. “She had an outstanding race. There were a number of Division I teams. Obviously when she can compete with that kind of competition, that’s quite an accomplishment.”
As a team, the Concordia women placed 11th out of all 32 teams at Pioneers Park. Breaking it down further, the women were sixth among the 26 programs in the College Division and second out of seven GPAC schools, finishing behind only Dordt.
Kortze and the ninth-ranked Bulldogs are back in action Sept. 29 at the Griak Invitational held at the University of Minnesota.