ST. OLAF, Minn. -- Wartburg College sophomore women's cross country athlete Missy Buttry of Shenandoah moved her unbeaten race string to six meets in a row, topping off a superb second year with the Knights by winning the NCAA Division III individual national title Saturday, Nov. 23, at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
Buttry's title is her third on a Division III running level. The 2002 NCAA Division III Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year claimed gold in the indoor and outdoor 1500-meter track events last spring.
Wartburg's women brought home one of the four trophies, placing third, to equal the program\'s highest-finish ever, in the team race with 209 points. The men's squad, led by senior Tyson Keith of Eldora's 20th-place mark, ended 10th at 302.
Buttry's time of 20:17.3 bested the field of 215 runners by nearly a minute. Brandeis' Mariko Tansey Holbrook ended second at 21:12.3.
"(Buttry) was very strong throughout," head coach Steve Johnson said. "Her title was part of an exciting day for the program. Two top 10 finishes are great."
Sophomore Jannae Holubar of Marshalltown (32nd – 22:45.5) and senior Gretchen Graham of Batavia, Ill., (39th – 22:51) followed Buttry for the Orange and Black. Junior Lacey Leinbaugh of Holstein rounded out the top 50 finishes, placing 49th (23:04).
Keith earned All-American honors in a time of 25:38. Junior Tate Behning of Pella placed 49th (26:06.5), while freshman Jeff Davis of Shenandoah was 59th (26:15.9) to complete the Knights top three.
Returning All-American Joe Hughes of Tama and sophomore Josh Moen of Fairbank, Wartburg's No. 2 and 3 runners, dropped back in the field due to falling on the course.
"The course was extremely narrow, and both of them fell along it," Johnson said. "It's a tough break, but I was still very happy with the way our men ran considering what happened to two of top five runners."
NOTES: Buttry\'s national title is first individually for Wartburg men or women. Previous best was by Robyn Olson in 1992 (3rd). Buttry and Keith All-American honors are No. 3 and 4 in competition (13th and 14th overall) over course of last two seasons for Knights.
ST. OLAF, Minn. -- Wartburg College sophomore women's cross country athlete Missy Buttry of Shenandoah moved her unbeaten race string to six meets in a row, topping off a superb second year with the Knights by winning the NCAA Division III individual national title Saturday, Nov. 23, at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
Buttry's title is her third on a Division III running level. The 2002 NCAA Division III Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year claimed gold in the indoor and outdoor 1500-meter track events last spring.
Wartburg's women brought home one of the four trophies, placing third, to equal the program\'s highest-finish ever, in the team race with 209 points. The men's squad, led by senior Tyson Keith of Eldora's 20th-place mark, ended 10th at 302.
Buttry's time of 20:17.3 bested the field of 215 runners by nearly a minute. Brandeis' Mariko Tansey Holbrook ended second at 21:12.3.