Mile posts: Items on Edwin Kurgat, Ashley Tutt, Cailie Logue, Matt Hanson, Joe Anderson, Morgan Lawson

You know you have a good field for a road race when a former Iowa State NCAA champion and two current Cyclone All-Americans come calling.

That was the case Sunday at the third annual running of the Blazing 5K (the first was called WR Elite). Edwin Kurgat, the 2019 NCAA cross country champion and a 10-time All-American, dropped the hammer on a good field fairly early on and set a new course record at Water Works Park. The current Iowa State graduate student and student coach with the program cruised to victory in 13 minutes, 47 seconds. Kurgat crushed the course record of 14:11 set last year by John Vodacek.

Kurgat averaged 4:26 per mile and ended up 28 seconds ahead of Noah Rasmussen of Lincoln, Neb. Finishing fourth and one second off third place was Runablaze Iowa athlete and former Pleasant Valley and Central College star Austin O'Brien of Waukee in 14:22. He fought off teammate Blake Whalen, a former Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central Community College runner, by one second. The order was reversed at the 10-mile Capital Pursuit on Sept. 25, when Des Moines resident Whalen was runner-up and O'Brien third.

Mike Gille was the top representative for the Running Wild Elite team. The former Augustana College runner from Roscoe, Ill., claimed 11th in 14:40. The next Iowan was former Grand View All-American Trevor Albert in 13th place in 14:47. Albert is a graduate assistant at Grand View and a native of Eldon who now resides in Altoona. Dan Iselin was the next Runablaze athlete in 14th place with same time as Albert. Iselin is a former Luther College athlete now living in Des Moines. Caleb Appleton, a former Wartburg College standout, was the next Runablaze finishers in 17th place in 14:49. Appleton is from Des Moines.

Ethan Hammerand, a former Loras College and Western Dubuque athlete, ended up 18th in 14:56. The Runablaze athlete lists Woodbine as his residence now. Runablaze's Jason Thomas, a former Dowling Catholic star, was next in 19th place in 14:57. Thomas lives in West Des Moines.

Former University of Iowa athlete Noah Healy came to run and finished 21st in 51:10. Healy, an RWE athlete now lives in Iowa City. Collin Day, a former Valley High and Wartburg College standout, was 23rd in 15:20. He resides in Cedar Falls. Matt Lange, recruiting coordinator and assistant coach for Iowa State, placed 24th in 15:26. Former Dowling Catholic prep Gabe Shaw of Des Moines took 25th in 15:29. Runablaze's Tyler Lance, who lives in Algona, placed 26th in 15:30. Race director and Runablaze coordinator Tyson Wieland was 27th in 15:38. The former Johnston High and Iowa Central standout lives in Des Moines. New Runablaze athlete Connor Roche, who ran for Army West Point and now lives in Grundy Center, was 30th in 15:46. Running Wild Elite's Elliott Klauer, a former Pleasant Valley prep and Iowa State student, was the final runner under 16 minutes in 31st place in 15:47. Klauer resides in Bettendorf. In all, 19 men broke 15 minutes in the stellar race.

Current Iowa State graduate students Ashley Tutt and Cailie Logue were among those battling for the women's 5K elite win. Tutt, a two-time All-American whose has one season of indoor and outdoor track eligibility, passed Cheyenne Moore in the final 400 meters to capture the victory in 16:17. Moore, a former Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion for UW-Oshkosh, settled for second in 16:23. Logue, a four-time All-American and 11-time Big 12 champion, ended up third in 16:36. Logue said it was her first race since March, when she came down with a back injury and redshirted during the outdoor season.

Former Mount Mercy NAIA indoor 800-meter and 1,000-meter national runner-up Andrea Ertz of Central City finished sixth in 17:41. Ertz is a former Marion prep and current Running Wild Elite athlete. Another former Marion prep, Madison Bach, was another spot back in seventh in 17:51. Bach is a former Nebraska-Kearney athlete who will be living in Kansas soon. Runablaze's Pasca Myers, a former Grandma's Marathon champion and resident of Ames now, took eighth in 17:56. Former Wartburg standout Carina Collet took eighth in 18:00. Collet is a graduate student at Iowa State.

RWE's Becca Mallon of North Liberty finished 12th in 18:25. Mallon is a former former Davenport Assumption and Northern Iowa runner. Former Dubuque Hempstead and Wartburg College standout Jessica Hruska came up short in her bid to set the Iowa masters record, which is 18:07. Hruska, of Dubuque, nevertheless was 13th in 18:27.

The person who holds the Iowa 40-and-over record, Jenny Schulze, set an Iowa record for women 50 and over. The resident of Clive who turned 50 just a few weeks ago ran 19:43 to take down the mark of 20:20 by Davenport's Mary Toohill, 51, at a race in Lisbon.

Tutt's time was off the course and race record of 16:07.16 set by Wartburg legend Missy Rock in the inaugural race in 2020, when the event was known as the WR Elite.

Listen to several interviews from the top finishers, including Kurgat, Tutt and Logue at: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8

Moving on to triathlon, where the Ironman World Championship returned to Kailua-Kona for the first time in three years. Former Storm Lake resident and Buena Vista athlete and professor Matt Hanson shrugged off a tough start to the today Saturday to finish 15th overall in the men's pro race in 8:04:55. That is a career-best finish for Hanson, 37, who now resides in Castle Rock, Colo.

Hanson stood only 35th among the pros following a 52:40 effort in the 2.4-mile swim. He began to move up on the second half of the 112-mile bike, closing down to 23rd after a 4:22:18 leg. Hanson then turned to his specialty, the run, and knocked out the seventh-best marathon time of 2:45:34 to complete his race.

"Considering how poorly the body was performing the first 3 hours of the day, I’ll take the result," Hanson wrote on Instagram. "Couldn’t get anything going in the water or the early miles of the bike. Riding in no man's land for most of the day, but things finally snapped into place at the base of the climb to Hawi. From then on I was slowly moving up the rest of the day. Went out on the run to try to give myself a chance at a top 10 finish and ran well through 20 miles. The wheels came off a bit at the end, but held it together to finish in the last money spot. Not the day I wanted, but a lot of positives on the day."

Hanson's previous best finish at the Ironman World Championship was a 33rd-place finish in 8:39:58 in 2018.

Moving back to the roads and Sunday's Chicago Marathon, where Running Wild Elite's Dan Froeschle of Davenport finished 73rd among all men in 2:25:44. That time is third best in club history. Froeschle is a former Davenport Assumption prep. Not far behind Froeschle was former Pleasant Valley prep star Nicholas Yanek, now based in the Chicago area. Yanek was 81st among men's athletes in 2:26:26.

Former Iowa All-American Diane Nukuri finished 34th among all women's competitors. The Asics runner and Flagstaff, Ariz., resident covered the 26.2-mile distance in 2:41:05. Nukuri was sixth in the 35-39 age group. Just over three minutes back was former Dordt College and current Runablaze athlete Jenn Van Otterloo of Sioux Center. Van Otterloo was 47th in 2:44:32 and ninth in the 35-39 age group. Runablaze's Angie Chaney, a former Central College athlete now living in Bloomfield, pulled off a four-minute personal best by finished 79th in 2:51:45. The former Norwalk prep's previous best was 2:55:56.

Anna Keith, a former Wartburg runner from Sioux Center, was the winner of the Harvest Half Marathon for women in Sioux Center on Saturday in 1:23:25. The resident of Waverly won by more than 12 minutes.

Turning to a quiet weekend in college cross country, where the Dordt University teams hosted the Defender Holiday Inn Classic in Sioux Center. The Defender men played rude hosts, putting four runners in the top nine to take the team title with 27 points, 33 ahead of Grand View. Leading the way was former George/Little Rock prep Joe Anderson as a college cross country champion for the first time. Anderson chopped more than a minute off his previous best for 8K (25:37) by running 24:19.59.

Anderson knocked fellow senior Eric Steiger, the leader at the Defenders' last meet, down to second overall. The fifth-year senior ran 24:22:95. That time is still a 33-second improvement from his previous best. Davis Tebben and Peter Shippy also cracked the top 10. Tebben completed the course with a personal best time of 24:38.34 for sixth place and Shippy, also a senior, was ninth in 24:54.87. The final scorer was former Algona prep Trey Engen, running a new best for the distance with a 25:10.94. Engen, a senior, was 14th. He was followed closely by senior Thaniel Schroeder in 16th in a new personal-best 25:22.62. Senior Brooks DeWaard (21st, 25:38.69) and junior Ethan Summerhays (23rd, 25:47.90) also cracked the top 25 with personal-best times for the balanced Defenders. Dordt's 2:03-plus time among the top five was a season best.

"Joe, Eric and Davis raced a very smart race before stretching the pack out over the last mile," Dordt University head coach Nate Wolf said in a university press release. "It was a full team effort, with many of the men racing to career-best performances. I was excited for Joe, as this is his first collegiate cross country win."

Anderson was named United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association's NAIA national athlete of the week for his effort.

Runner-up Grand View was paced by junior Sam Mickelson, who ran a school record time of 24:29.74 for fourth place. Mickelson is a Hawkeye Community College transfer from East Dubuque, Ill. Also running under the school record was former Des Moines East Prep Tony Rodriguez, a senior. The Grand View senior took fifth overall in 24:34.34. Viking senior Seth Kilborn, from Ames, was 15th in 25:18.28. Rounding out the scorers was sophomore Stevie Salas in 25:37.04 and junior Carter Huyser, a former Oskaloosa prep, in 25th in 25:49.95. Grand View's total time of 2:05:49 in best in school history, topping the previous mark of 2:07:36 set last year.

Northwestern College's Joseph Kunert, a senior and former Humboldt prep, took nearly two minutes off his previous-best time for the 4.97-mile distance by finishing 17th in 25:26.98.

The women's individual title came down to runners from Grand View and Dordt, with the Vikings' Morgan Lawson triumphing in 18:02.66. The senior and former Ottumwa High star equaled her best for the 5K distance to remain unbeaten so far this season. Just over three seconds back was Dordt junior Jessica Kampman in 18:06.12. Lawson also was named USTFCCA's NAIA national women's athlete of the week for her effort.

Kampman and graduate student Kristine Honomichl helped guide the Defenders to the team title with 49 points, 31 better than Concordia (Neb.). Honomichl, a junior athletically, was fourth in 18:16.23. The final scorers for the Defenders were junior Lucy Borkowski (12th, 18:53.10), true freshman Molly Mulder (16th, 19:10.25) and junior Taylor Anema (17th, 19:12.13). Borkowski is a former Harlan Community runner from Manilla.

Northwestern placed four runners in the top 25 to finish third in the team race. Katlyn Wiese, a former Ridge View (Holstein) prep, led the way in third place and with a big personal-best time. Wiese knocked 55 seconds off her best for the distance with an 18:13.86 time. Freshman Emily Haverdink, a former MOC-FV (Orange City) athlete, took 21 seconds off her previous best by running 18:29.20. She was seventh overall. Junior Tirzah Wittenberg (19th, 19:18.82) and sophomore Emma Haley (25th, 19:31.99) also finished well for the Red Raiders. Wittenberg, a junior from Pella, took 34 seconds off her previous best. Haley, another former MOC-FV prep, took 41 seconds off her previous best.

Grand View was also helped by freshman Kayla Overton in 23rd place in 19:23.99. That time is seventh-best in school history for the Davenport native. The Vikings were fifth in the team race.

Morningside College was in sixth and led by freshman Courtney Sporrer in 15th place in 19:08.09.

Mount Mercy College was the scene for the Seminole Valley Stampede on Saturday, with an Iowan taking top honors. Mount Mercy graduate student Deanna Newhouse was the overall 5K champion for the women, running 18:19.9. That time is a personal best for the former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep and Iowa State student. Newhouse was more than 25 seconds ahead of the runner-up. The Mustangs' fourth-place team effort was helped out by sophomore J'Lyn Knutson's seventh-place effort in a new best of 19:02.1. Knutson is a former Melcher-Dallas prep.

Graceland sisters Keagan Perkins and Ashlynn Perkins finished third and fifth. Keagan, a senior, was third in a new best of 18:49.0. Ashlynn, a senior, also had a best for the 3.1-mile distance in 18:53.7. Graceland was fifth in the team race. Southeastern Community College's Aisha Ramone, a freshman, ended up fourth in a new best of 18:50.2.

Graceland junior Dillon Grover took runner-up honors in the men's 8K in 24:48.3, trailing only Missouri Baptist's Donovan Denslow. Running Wild Elite's Brett Rosauer of Iowa City was third overall in 24:59. Indian Hills sophomore Brady Millikin took fourth out of 174 runners with 25:04.0, which is third-best in school history. The former Pekin athlete from Hedrick knocked 1:04 off his previous best for the distance.

St. Ambrose student Nolan Rudd, running unattached, was fifth in 26:03.6. Jacob Blackmon, a Mount Mercy student running unattached, was sixth in 26:10.0.

The Minnesota State women's cross country team finished in second at the Lucian Rosa Invitational in Kenosha, Wis., on Saturday and former Iowa Central runner Mackenzie Gaherty of Dubuque helped the cause. The senior finished 13th in the 6K race in 22:56.93 and was the No. 4 runner for the Mavericks, who scored 59 points to champion Cedarville's (Ohio) 33.

Finishing with trail racing, where Kiersten Hathaway of Clive was the female winner of the Annett Nature Center 5K in rural Indianola on Sunday in 23:34. Former UT-Stout standout Aleksandr Ilyushev was the men's winner in 17:11. He won by 5:27.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

Want to hear more about distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Edwin Kurgat, Ashley Tutt, Cailie Logue, Matt Hanson, Dan Froeschle, Joe Anderson, Morgan Lawson