JOPLIN, Mo. – Following a disappointing finish at the 2006 NCAA Division II nationals, the Northern Kentucky University men’s cross country team has been striving to better their 22nd place finish. All the hard work they’ve done throughout the postseason until now has indeed paid off as the Norse finished 16th out of 24 squads in the 50th anniversary meet.
The Norse finished this year’s race with a team total of 411 points – 102 better than last year. Abilene Christian (59 points) defended its 2006 national title by squeaking out a seven point victory over both Western State (Colo.) and Adams State (Colo.). The title is ACU’s fifth.
It was once again Zach Koehler who was the top finisher for head coach Steve Kruse’s bunch. Koehler, a graduate of Ryle High School, completed the 10-kilometer course with a time of 31:28.1, which was good enough for 32nd place overall.
Koehler’s time was also good enough to earn All-American honors, the second in Norse cross country history – John Lott earned the honors in 1979 when he finished 19th at the Nationals.
Kruse had high praises for Koehler: “Zach went out strong and really had it in him today to perform like he did. In some earlier races this year, he would have some late race cramping that hurt his overall finish times but he had done an outstanding job battling through everything.
“This time around, he had a very strong, nice kick at the end that led to a brilliant finish.”
Drew Harris (32:39.6, 86th), Matthew Shoulta (33:11.4, 115th), Keith Knapp (33:25.5, 124th), and Ryne Smith (33:53.0, 136th) were the other runners to place in the top five on the team.
Harris and Smith, both freshmen, have been a pleasant surprise were Kruse throughout the season and proved that they were capable of performing well for the team when they needed it the most.
“Drew did a great job out there for us today. He ran a nice, nice race. I can’t begin to say how wonderful of a job he did today for the team,” Kruse said.
Knapp, a senior from Florence, Ky., was the first senior across the line for the Norse. “Keith was a two-time Most Valuable Runner for the men’s squad during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He showed so much leadership throughout the course. His desire for the team to succeed really showed today. It was an emotional day for Keith and the rest of the squad,” Kruse said when asked about Knapp.
The 16th place overall finish was the highest a Norse team has ever finished at the national meet. Kruse stated, “Anytime you make a jump of six places in a National meet from one year to the next only goes to show that this team has a lot of character and ability. We had two freshmen running in the top seven all season long and also had strong leadership from our returning guys. I’m so proud of the effort these guys gave out here today.”
Brad Bullock (34:31.1.7, 156th) and Adam Stoppelwerth (36:07.4, 177th) rounded out the field for NKU in their last race in a Norse uniform.
Abilene Christian’s Nicodemus Naimadu completed what some will say is the most prolific NCAA cross country career. Naimadu, a native of Kenya, is the only runner in the history of the NCAA to win the national title in all four years in which he competed.
Despite not having run competitively in over a month, Naimadu was able to distance himself and cruise to a finishing time of 29:39.7 – nearly 30 seconds better than his closest competition, Adams State’s Aaron Braun.
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----Julianne Hoekzema |
Naimadu wasn’t the only one to make history on the day. NKU’s Julianne Hoekzema wrote her name in the record books as the first female in Norse history to compete at Nationals.
Hoekzema, a graduate of Badin High School, finished the six-kilometer event in a time 22:25.8, which was only good enough for 70th place. Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler was the individual winner with a time of 20:29.1.
Despite the less than stellar finish, Kruse still thought his senior did her best, “Juli went out and tried to establish herself early on but today just wasn’t her day. Some days you have it and some days you don’t. I’m still proud of her because she has shown so much character and heart to have battled though injuries throughout her career.
"By making Nationals, it showed the other girls on the team that it was possible for a NKU women’s runner to make it this far. Juli’s legacy will be felt for years to come.”
The Division II women’s team championship went to Adams State (63 points), which finished an astounding 115 points better than second place Seattle Pacific (178).
The Grizzlies have now won an amazing 13 titles in only the 27th year for women’s cross country. The latest championship also gives the ASC women the record for most team titles in NCAA cross country regardless of division – North Central (Ill.) University’s men’s program currently 12 titles.