Courtesy of GoCobbers.com, Release: November 12

NCAA Central Region Team Results

NCAA Central Region Individual Results

WAVERLY, Iowa -- Concordia senior Natalie Hanson used the NCAA Central Regional Meet as a giant bottle of Scope to wash away the bitter taste she had in her mouth after the MIAC Champiosnhip Meet.

After falling and dropping out of the conference meet with 200 meters left in the conference race, Hanson executed her race plan to perfection at the regional meet and finish fourth. Her time of 22:33.20 placed her in a tie with Nicole Calcbrese of Wartburg but Calcbrese was awarded third place. Hanson's fourth place finish was good enough to qualify her for the NCAA National Meet on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Ohio Wesleyan University. The top seven finishers from teams that did not qualify earned spots in the national meet.

Hanson bettered her 2004 time by almost a full minute. Last year at the same meet on the same course, Hanson ran a 23:26 and finished 19th.

As a team, Concordia finished 11th which is up two spots from last year's 13th place finish.

Erica Lundgren and Alissa Bilden were the next two top finishers for the Cobbers. Lundgren finished in a time of 24:44.45 and placed 62nd, while Bilden was close behind with a 24:56.55 and came in 72nd. Lundgren improved on her time and finish from 2004. Last year she clocked a 25:12 and was 91st.

Rachel Charpentier and Lindsay Kuznia rounded out the top five finishers for Concordia. Charpentier posted a time of 25:29.90 and placed 87th. Kuznia was less than 11 seconds behind Charpentier and finished 97th with a time of 25:40.70.

Hanson will become the first Cobber women's cross country runner to compete at the national meet since Katie Martin '02 participated in the 2001 competition.

Team Results:

1) Wartburg - 102
2) Carleton - 107
3) St Thomas - 139
4) Macalester - 140
5) Nebraska Wesleyan - 145
6) Gustavus Adolphus - 164
7) Luther - 173
8) St Olaf - 179
9) Grinnell - 268
10) St Benedict's - 282
11) Concordia - 321
12) Hamline - 329
13) Bethel - 411
14) Saint Mary's - 416
15) Loras - 437
16) Central - 438
17) Simpson - 443
18) Coe - 460
19) Augsburg - 485
20) St Catherine - 527
21) Cornell - 542
22) Martin Luther - 582
23) Clarke - 721

Top 20 Individuals

1) Hailey Harren - Gustavus Adolphus - 21:46.85
2) Keidra Anderson - Hamline - 22:29.25
3) Nicole Calcbrese - Wartburg - 22:33.20
4) Natalie Hanson - Concordia - 22:33.20
5) Kourtney Joyce - Gustavus Adolphus - 22:55.30
6) Leah Wurm - St Benedict's - 22:57.45
7) Sarah Schillaci - Carleton - 23:04.50
8) Brittany Hubbard - Nebraska Wesleyan - 23:05.05
9) Amber Uhlenhake - Luther - 23:07.90
10) Koby Jeschkeit-hagen - Macalester - 23:12.40
11) Janet Dobyns - Luther - 23:24.15
12) Jill Wagaman - Wartburg - 23:25.90
13) Kate Meyer - Carleton - 23:27.95
14) Kristi Nixon - Carleton - 23:31.85
15) Ashley Cronen - Gustavus Adolphus - 23:35.60
16) Melissa Francis - Hamline - 23:41.15
17) Katie Theisen - St Thomas - 23:41.75
18) Nikki Umhoefer - Bethel - 23:46.05
19) Annie Knutson - St Olaf - 23:47.95
20) Marcy Rahn - Wartburg - 23:48.25