Mile posts: Items on Florance Uwajeneza, Eleonora Curtabbi, Edwin Kurgat, Wesley Kiptoo, Hilda Olemomoi, Chad Johnson, Diane Nukuri

The 2022 college cross country season is officially history. And making history were two former Iowa Central Community College athletes at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash., on Friday.

West Texas A&M seniors Florance Uwajeneza and Eleonora Curtabbi recorded the highest individual finishes in program history, with Uwajeneza improving four spots on her finish of a year ago to place fifth overall in the six-kilometer race on a slightly slushy, snowy course in 20 minutes, 48.9 seconds. Uwajeneza, the South Central Regional champion, is a native of St. Paul, Minn. Fellow former Triton Curtabbi was right behind her teammate in sixth place in 20:50.2 to make the duo the only two Lady Buffs to earn multiple All-American honors in cross country. Curtabbi, from Italy, improved 24 spots from last season's NCAA meet. They helped the Buffs finish 13th in the team race with 381 points and lead off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.

The Northwest Missouri State women ran at nationals for the third time in their history and they placed 24th in the team race. Former Cedar Falls High prep and reigning MIAA conference champion Caroline Cunningham finished as the No. 2 runner for the Bearcats in 89th in 21:57.1. Cunningham, a senior, has been the No. 1 runner for Northwest this season.

"I am disappointed and proud of my race, which is a complex emotion. While I continue to wait for my own national moment, I got to cheer on my MIAA friends win All-American honors, including my own teammate," Cunningham wrote on Instagram.

Teammate Tori Castle, a sophomore and former Treynor prep, finished 250th in 24:35.6 in her nationals debut.

Former Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central athlete Mackenzie Gaherty made her nationals debut and was the No. 3 runner for Minnesota State, which was making its first trip to nationals since 1995. Gaherty, a senior, finished 119th in 22:13.7 for the Mavericks, who were 16th in the team competition.

The men's race didn't have nearly as many highlights. Nebraska-Kearney's Myles Bach, a redshirt sophomore and the No. 1 runner for the Lopes all season including All-MIAA and All-Central Region honors, dropped out after running 3K. Bach was in 77th place at the time. He is a former Center Point-Urbana great. The Lopes finished 22nd as a team.

West Texas' hopes also were damaged when senior and former Iowa Central runner Innocent Murwanashyaka did not finish. The St. Paul, Minn., native was in 199th place when he dropped out after 4.6K. Senior teammate Noah Bundrock, another former Triton, placed 218th in 32:50.9 as West Texas finished 15th in the team rce with 400 points.

Continuing with cross country, where former Iowa State 2019 NCAA cross country champion and 10-time All-American Edwin Kurgat captured the victory at the Sound Running FitnessBank CROSS CHAMPS men's 8K in Austin, Texas. The current Iowa State student-coach ran 23:27.50 to defeat a stellar field that included former Notre Dame star and 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifier Yared Nuguse by 3.1 seconds Thursday. Kurgat won the Blazing 5K race in Des Moines in October in his return to race in several months.

Another former Cyclone NCAA champion also excelled. Wesley Kiptoo, a 5,000 indoor champion, placed sixth overall in 23:44.90. Kiptoo was the No. 1 runner for the HOKA Northern Arizona Elite team, which took runner-up honors.

Former Drake University star Adam Fogg of the Under Armour Mission Run team based in Baltimore finished 44th in 25:14.10. Former Wartburg College 11-time American Rivers Conference champion Joe Freiburger of the Bowerman Track Club Elite team grabbed 67th in 27:16.70. Freiburger is a former Western Dubuque prep. Next behind Freiburger was Kevin Claus of the Running Wild Elite team based in Davenport. Claus, a former Augustana College athlete, ran 27:18.10.

Moving to indoor track and field, where several former and current Iowa collegians competed at the Boston University Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday. Former Iowa Western Community College great Hilda (Chebet) Olemomoi placed third overall in the women's 5K after running 15:08.22. Olemomoi also was third in the fastest of six heats. Olemomoi is coming off a sixth-place overall finish at the NCAA Division I cross country nationals in Stillwater, Okla., last month. The overall winner was Boston Athletic Association athlete Annie Rodenfels in 15:08.22.

Loras College graduate student Kassie Parker, the recent NCAA Division III cross country champion from East Lansing, Mich., last month, placed 20th. Running unattached and in the second-fastest heat, Parker was timed in 15:43.55. Parker was ninth in the heat, won in 15:33.72.

The third heat of the 5,000 was won by former Iowa State All-American Amanda Vestri. The Syracuse senior who redshirted last season with an injury won in 15:42.48. Vestri finished 17th overall. Iowa State senior Ashley Tutt placed 20th in that heat and 67th overall in 16:30.81.

In the women's 3,000, former Ballard of Huxley prep and Minnesota runner Abby Kohut-Jackson placed 11th in the fastest heat and 11th overall in 8:59.13. Kohut-Jackson is a graduate student at Saint Louis University and a Tracksmith athlete. The race was won by West Virginia's Ceili McCabe in 8:50.44.

Iowa State senior Chad Johnson produced the No. 3 time in Cyclone indoor history by running 13:33.15 in the 5,000 meters. Johnson trimmed 24 seconds off his previous personal-best time of 13:57.25 from last season to place 21st overall. Johnson finished fourth in heat 2, won by unattached runner Athanas Kioko in 13:22.65. Stanford's Ky Robinson was the overall winner in 13:11.53.

Several Dordt College runners met the auto standard for the NAIA indoor nationals at the SDSU Holiday Open Friday and Saturday in Brookings, S.D. Junior Payton Mauldin rolled to an easy victory in the 800 meters to gain that standard. The junior and former George-Little Rock High athlete ran 1:51.86 to win by more than four seconds over a South Dakota State University athlete.

Joe Anderson, a Defenders senior and also former George-Little Rock student, won the 3,000 meters in 8:25.94 to win by more than four seconds to gain that standard. Anderson was an All-American and the top runner for team champion Dordt at the recent NAIA cross country championships. Anderson missed the Holiday Open record, by current teammate Eric Steiger, by just .17 of a second. Steiger took third place in 8:31.71. Junior and former Algona prep Trey Engen was fourth in 8:33.83.

Former Western Christian (Hull) prep Cole Zevenbergern of Rock Valley finished second in 1:20:13 to get the standard. The junior was just .23 of a second behind winner Reid Pierzinski of South Dakota State.

Two runners who led Dordt's effort at the NAIA national cross country meet went 1-2 in the women's 3,000 to also meet the national standard. Senior Jessica Kampman took the victory in 10:01.47, with fellow senior and Morningside College transfer Kristine Honomichl next across the line in 10:19.28.

At Saturday's Frigid Bee Invitational hosted by St. Ambrose, Wartburg College junior Christopher Collet ran the third-best time in school history in taking the victory of the 5,000 meters. Collet ran 14:26.56 on the Davenport track to top sophomore teammate and former Council Bluffs Lewis Central prep standout Connor Lancial by 8.15 seconds. Lancial's time is seventh best in program history. Sophomore Jacob Green, a former Cedar Rapids JFK prep, rounded out the podium in third place in 14:38.19. Green's time is now No. 9 in Knights history.

Wartburg also had a couple strong runs in the women's 5,000 from juniors Ashley Bloomquist and Natalie Paulson. Bloomquist, a former Fairfield High athlete, won in 17:53.86. Paulson, a former Dallas Center-Grimes prep, was runner-up in 18:01.42.

Now to the roads, where two former Iowa collegians met the automatic qualifying time for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Fla. Former Iowa All-American Diane Nukuri, an Olympian in the marathon for Burundi before changing her citizenship to the U.S., finished 14th overall among the professional women at the California International Marathon in Sacramento on Sunday. Nukuri, an ASICS athlete based in Flagstaff, Ariz., ran 2:33:16. Former Des Moines Roosevelt and Drake University star Emma Huston, 28, finished 20th in a new personal-best time of 2:34:28 to earn a return trip to the Trials. Huston's previous best had been a course record 2:38:17 at the Lincoln Marathon in the spring. Nukuri, 38, and Huston own the top-two times in Iowa road racing history for the half marathon distance. The standard to qualify is 2:37:00.

Also placing well was former Luther College runner Tricia Serres, 28, of Asbury. The Runablaze Iowa athlete finished 116th among all women after running 2:46:11.

Former Iowa State runner Tyler Jermann, 30, met the men's U.S. Olympic Trials standard of 2:18:00 for the third time this year after running 2:16:19. The Minnesota Distance Elite athlete, 30, was 22nd among the men in 2:16:19. Just in front of Jermann in 21st was former Runablaze athlete Ryan Root in 2:16:09. Root, 31, now resides in Boulder, Colo.

Iowa natives Kevin Lewis and Mason Frank did not finish. Lewis, a former Ottumwa High and Iowa standout who now runs for the Minnesota Distance Elite, suffered a lower calf injury at 11 miles. Frank, a former ADM of Adel prep and 2021 IMT Half Marathon champion, was in 53rd place through 30K before stopping. Frank now resides in Aurora, Colo.

On to triathlon, where former Storm Lake resident and Buena Vista University professor and athlete Matt Hanson finished fifth at CLASH Daytona on Friday at the famed Dayton International Speedway. Hanson, a resident of Castle Rock, Colo., rallied on the 13.2-kilometer run to pass several runners and finish in 2:27:04. The winner of the 1.6K swim, 60K bike and run was Vincent Luis of France in 2:23:48.

In the women's pro event, Iowa City native Lesley Smith finished 10th overall in 2:48:37 over those same distances. The winner was Italy's Angelica Olmo in 2:40:11.

On to trails, where a solid field showed up for the Capital Striders' Sycamore 8 Trail Race from Johnston to Des Moines. Runablaze coordinator Tyson Wieland, 28, of Des Moines captured the overall win in 44:05. The former Iowa Central and Johnston High product won by 2:49 over top masters finisher Rob Semelroth, 48, of Des Moines. The women's winner was Kiersten Hathaway, 47, of Clive in 54:57. She was 1:26 ahead of former Southeast Warren prep and South Dakota State runner Elise (Emmick) Wieland, 23, of Des Moines. Elise Wieland is an assistant coach with the Drake track and field program.

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

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Florance Uwajeneza, Eleonora Curtabbi, Edwin Kurgat, Wesley Kiptoo, Hilda Olemomoi, Chad Johnson, Diane Nukuri