Mile posts: Items on Mike Jasa, Eleonora Curtabbi, Isaac Basten, Drake Hanson, Hilda Olemomoi, Nehemia Too, Biya Simbassa, Spencer Moon

Mike Jasa had a perfect weekend and his Loras College men's track and field teammates weren't too shabby, either, in this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.

Jasa was a part of three winning events at the American Rivers Conference meet Friday and Saturday in Storm Lake as the No. 4 (by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) Duhawks claimed their second consecutive indoor team championship.

Jasa, a senior and former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep, started by leading Loras to an easy championship in the distance medley relay on Friday night at the Buena Vista University's Lamberti Rec Center. Wyatt Kelly (1,200), Easton Stackis (400), Jasa (800) and Ryan Harvey (mile) ran the 4,000 meters in 10:04.45, a time well ahead of Wartburg's runner-up 10:23.56 effort. Kelly is a senior and former Hudson prep. Stackis is a freshman and former Dubuque Senior prep while Harvey is a sophomore.

The next day, Jasa set a new conference record while winning his third consecutive 800-meter title. Jasa ran 1:50.49 in section 2 of 2 to win by nearly two seconds.

Jasa then closed the meet by running another dominant 800 meters. Jasa, Carter Oberfoell, sophomore Chris Guise, sophomore Elliott Frideres and Jasa clocked 7:45.46 to set a new ARC and Loras record. Loras topped Nebraska Wesleyan by 1.74 seconds. Oberfoell is a senior and former Dubuque Wahlert prep. Guise went to Davenport Assumption. Frideres is a former Nevada athlete.

Turning now to the BU Last Chance Qualifier in Boston, where three former Iowa Central Community College stars shined. West Texas A&M's Eleonora Curtabbi smashed the NCAA Division II record for 3,000 indoors when the senior ran 9:08.10 for fourth place overall. Curtabbi erased the previous mark of 9:11.41 set in 2021 by Celine Ritter of Lee University. Curtabbi, a native of Italy, won the Lone Star Conference indoor mile title a week ago and was runner-up in the 3,000 to her senior teammate, Florance Uwajeneza. Curtabbi, on fresh legs, ran 1:04 faster than she did at the Lone Star meet.

Uwajeneza, a native of St. Paul, Minn., was seventh in the 3,000 Sunday in 9:14.36. Uwajeneza improved nearly 10 seconds on her previous personal-best effort set at last season NCAA Division II nationals. Her time puts Uwajeneza in the top-three all-time for the division. The winning time was an 8:37.83 effort by former Oklahoma State standout and Nike Union athlete Sinclaire Johnson.

In the women's mile, former Triton and New Mexico three-time first-team All-American Adva Cohen finished runner-up. The Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky Distance athlete ran 4:41.33 to trail only Jane Buckley's 4:40.44.

Also in the men's 3,000, former Iowa State runner Brian Llamas of the Newton Running team finished fifth overall in 8:02.88. The winning time was 7:57.56.

Moving back to conference meets, where Drake University junior Isaac Basten claimed a pair of Missouri Valley Conference championships at Gately Park in Chicago on Sunday and Monday. Basten claimed his first men's mile title Monday in 4:13.34, nearly a second ahead of Illinois State junior Joe Morrison, to go with a 5,200-meter MVC indoor title in 2021 along with a 1,500 MVC outdoor title last spring. Basten had qualified for the final with the best time of 4:11.02 Sunday.

That day, Basten ran the anchor mile leg on the Bulldogs' winning distance medley relay team that ran 10:07.01 and won by nearly a second. Others on the relay were freshman Aidan Simon (1,200), junior Dyer Jarabek (400) and sophomore Jack Burns (800). Jarabek is a former Dowling Catholic athlete.

Northern Iowa had a champion in the distance events as well when former Southeast Polk prep Drake Hanson became the first Panther to claim the MVC indoor 800 title since former NCAA indoor champion Tyler Mulder did it in 2008 and 2009. Hanson ran 1:55.04 in the final to easily top Indiana State's Wyatt Wyman by .7 of a second. The sophomore improved on a runner-up finish in the Valley from a year ago.

Will return to the MVC championships in a bit. At the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., former Iowa Western great Hilda Olemomoi of Alabama led the Crimson Tide to a victory in the women's DMR and added a runner-up finish in the 3,000. The sophomore ran the anchor leg on Alabama's DMR that ran 11:04.99. Former Dowling Catholic prep Kelsey Schweizer, a Missouri junior, ran the 800 leg on the Tigers' seventh-place team that ran 11:22.70.

Olemomoi on Saturday ran 9:12.09 in that 3,000 to trail only Arkansas senior star Lauren Gregory's 9:09.90 effort. Schweizer in the 800 prelims Friday ran a personal-best 2:07.46 that ranked 13th best, but didn't qualify for the final.

Former Sioux City North prep standout Merga Gemeda helped the host South Dakota men win their first Summit League Indoor title since 2015 by scoring 17 of the Coyotes' 179.5 points inside the DakotaDome. The fifth-year senior opened by finishing runner-up in the 5,000 Friday in 14:28.20. Gemeda was exactly a second behind champion Joseph Minor-Williams. Former Iowa Central standout Hunter Klimek finished sixth for North Dakota State in 14:39.19. Klimek is a junior for the Bison and anchored their winning DMR.

Gemeda ran 4:10.71 in the mile final Saturday to place third in 4:10.71. Former Valley High runner and St. Thomas (Minn.) junior Morey Smith of Clive was fourth in 4:10.97. South Dakota State freshman Will Lohr, like Gemeda a former North prep, was eighth in 4:14.22.

Gemeda then closed out his busy weekend by taking sixth in the 3,000 in 8:16.11, in a race won by Minor-Williams in 8:12.00.

Klimek is a junior for the Bison and anchored their winning DMR. That group ran 10:09.61 to top a St. Thomas team that featured Smith on the mile anchor. The Tommies ran 10:12.53.

The champion South Dakota women were buoyed by former Sioux City Heelan prep Madison Yochum. The junior finished fourth in the 800 final in 2:14.48. Yochum then ran on the Coyotes' winning 4x400 relay that ran 3:46.59.

Time to hit the highlights from the Big 12 Indoor meet in Lubbock, Texas, where the Iowa State women and men finished fifth overall. Fifth-year senior and three-time Big 12 cross country champion Cailie Logue of Iowa State picked up a pair of runner-up league finishes. Logue ran 16:18.36 in the 5,000 final Friday. Cyclone teammate Dana Feyen also scored important points with a fifth-place finish in 16:31.55 while fellow junior Madelynn Hill didn't miss scoring by too much, placing 10th in 16:44.62. The winner was Oklahoma State's Taylor Roe in 16:08.37.

Logue returned Saturday to score another eight points, part of Iowa State's total of 59, by placing second in the 3,000 final by just .39 of a second to West Virginia's Ceili McCabe. Logue ran 9:21.60. Feyen was the next-best Cyclone in 10th in 9:39.65. Hill ran 9:48.04 for 13th place.

Cyclone senior Nehemia Too contributed to three high scoring finishes to lead the distance runners' effort. Too took runner-up honors in the 1,000 final Saturday by running 2:20.81, the No. 2 time in school history. Freshman teammate Emanuel Galdino ran the seventh-best time in school history after placing fourth in 2:21.82. The winner was Oklahoma State's Juan Diego Castro in a facility record 2:20.29.

Too also placed fourth in the mile final, running 4:00.58. Junior teammate Peter Smith scored two points after placing seventh in 4:03.72. The winner was the Cowboys' Fouad Messaoudi in 3:57.27.

On Friday, Too ran the leadoff 1,200 leg that finished second in the DMR to Oklahoma State. Junior Joven Nelson (400), sophomore Darius Kipeyo (800) and junior Ezekiel Rop (mile) ran on the rest of the relay. Nelson is a former Nevada prep.

Iowa State also picked up a runner-up finish in the 800 final from senior Cebastian Gentil, who ran 1:48.85. Smith was seventh in 1:49.94. The winner was Crayton Carrozza of Texas in 1:48.52.

Rop came back to finish seventh in the 3,000 final in 8:13.74. Senior teammate and former Iowa Central standout Kelvin Bungei came across in eighth in 8:14.24. The winner was Oklahoma State star Alex Maier in 8:04.77.

The day before, Maier grabbed the 5,000 win in 14:11.72 in a race where the Cyclones finished 6-7-8. Junior and former Central Lyon-GLR prep Gable Sieperda was sixth in 14:24.49, Bungei seventh in 14:25.93 and senior Chad Johnson eighth in 14:30.53.

The Iowa State women's DMR also picked up a solid third-place showing after running the ninth-best time in school history, 11:26.72. Former Glenwood prep and junior Janette Schraft, senior Zakiyah Amos, freshman Makayla Clark and freshman Ashlynn Keeney, a former North Liberty prep, were on the relay. The winning time was Oklahoma State's 11:12.21.

Moving briefly to the roads, where former Sioux City North and Iowa Central great Biya Simbassa finished fourth in the USATF Half Marathon Championships on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas. The men's professional race came down to a sprint ove the final two-tenths of a mile or so, with eventual winner Jacob Thomson making a big surge to win in 1:02:38. Defending Leonard Korir outduelded Futsum Zienasellassie for second, with both having the same 1:02:39 time. Then it was Simbassa, an Under Armour athlete, finishing in 1:02:41.

Iowa showed its strength in the 600 meters by placing second and fourth in the men's 600 meters and also third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth in the women's final. Junior Tyler Olson ran the third-best time in Iowa history to take runner-up honors in 1:16.13. Olson is a former Muscatine High standout. Fellow junior Spencer Gudgel was fourth in 1:16.51, which is now fourth best in school history. The Hawkeyes' production could have been far better. Two-time All-American and reigning 600 champion Jenoah McKiver owned the top time after qualifying, 1:15.80. But McKiver was disqualified in the final.

Junior Ali Dorn, a Wisconsin transfer, produced the seventh-best time in Iowa women's history, 1:29.03, by placing third. Freshman and former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep Gabby Cortez took fourth in 1:29.12, just .01 ahead of teammate and redshirt freshman Chloe Larsen. Sophomore Jaiden Itson was sixth in 1:30.33, with junior Clare Pitcher eighth in 1:31.35.

Former Ottumwa High standout Alli Bookin-Nosbisch continued her strong season by placing fifth in the 800 final in 2:05.52. That time is just a little more than a second off her school-record 2:04.28 set a week ago. Bookin-Nosbisch is a junior. Pitcher added a point by placing eighth in 2:08.39.

Bookin-Nosbisch also led off the Hawkeyes' DMR that smashed the 15-year-old school record on Friday. She was assisted by Tesa Roberts, sister Grace Bookin-Nosbisch and former Sioux City Heelan prep Amber Aesoph, all juniors, in running 11:15.07 and placing fifth overall.

The men’s DMR ran the fourth-best time in school history, 9:42.27, to place seventh. The group included freshman Brett Wasick, junior Evan Schuster, freshman Ryan Schreiner and sophomore Max Murphy.

Murphy, in his final race of the weekend, delivered a promising performance against a good field, finishing seventh in the 3,000 in 8:00.25. Murphy is a former Pleasant Valley star from Bettendorf.

Back to the ARC meet, where Simpson College junior Spencer Moon was a two-time champion in Storm Lake. The former South Central Calhoun prep ran 14:52.62 Friday to top Wartburg sophomore and former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep Jacob Green of Wartburg by 5.84 seconds. Wartburg sophomore Sam Schmitz landed a third-place finish in 15:04.88, with freshman teammate Eli Larson (15:06.45) and Knights sophomore Clay Pehl (15:07.30) rounding out the top five. Schmitz is a former Johnston athlete. Larson is a former Center Point-Urbana prep from Walker. Pehl is from Ankeny and ran for Madrid.

The next day, Moon cruised to victory in the 3,000 final in 8:19.11. The Knights' Christopher Collet ran 8:29.26 for runner-up honors. Harvey rounded out the top three in 8:36.10 amid fatigued legs from many runners. Wartburg sophomore Jacob Green was next in fourth in 8:36.17, with sophomore Michael Goodenbour, a former Cedar Falls runner, next in 8:38.45. Green is a former Cedar Rapids Kennedy athlete.

Earlier that day, Collet had won the mile final in 4:06.75, holding off Loras' Kelly by .26 of a second. Harvey was third in 4:09.87. Central College junior Adam Sylvai was fourth in 4:12.74, with Carlo Dannenfelser next in 4:13.41. The next two runners were from Wartburg: sophomore Jack Kinzer (4:14.36) and freshman Lance Sobaski (4:14.72). Loras sophomore Jacob Belha also cracked 4:20 by placing eighth in 4:17.29. Dannenfelser is a former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep. Kinzer ran for North Liberty. Sobaski is a former Washington High prep.

Several other men ran strong times in the 800 final won by Jasa. Wartburg fifth-year senior Wyatt Schmidt took third in 1:52.46, with Oberfoell coming in fourth in 1:52.62. Kelly was next in 1:53.39. Schmidt ran for Northeast of Preston.

Wartburg's runner-up DMR included Schmidt, junior Zach Abbey, junior Carter Cruise and Collet. Abbey is a former Johnston runner from Urbandale. Cruise is a former Monticello prep from Scotch Grove.

The Loras women's team championship and 211.5 points was helped by a relay victory in the 4x800. Frankie Chaidez, Emily Jackson, Ellie Osterberger and Elly Burds ran on the relay that was timed in 9:28.20. Burds is a freshman and former Western Dubuque prep. Osterberger is a senior and former Dubuque Wahlert prep. Jackson is a freshman and ran for New Hampton. Wartburg was a distant second in 9:36.66.

Wartburg dominated the rest of the distance events. Junior Lexi Brown was the conference champion in the mile in 4:57.14, holding off Central College sophomore and former Pella High runner Caroline McMartin by .36 of a second. Third was Knights junior and former AGWSR of Ackley prep Aubrie Fisher in 5:01.27. Central sophomore Megan Johnson was fourth in 5:01.58, with Ellie Osterberger next in 5:03.76. Wartburg sophomore Ellie Meyer was sixth in 5:03.88. Brown is a former New London prep. Johnson is a former Aplington-Parkersburg prep. Meyer is a sophomore and former Iowa Falls-Alden prep.

Fisher later won the 3,000 in 10:13.24, topping Brown in a rematch by .87 of a second. McMartin was third in 10:14.38. Wartburg junior and former Dallas Center-Grimes prep Natalie Paulson was fourth in 10:19.79, with Central's Johnson fifth in 10:19.93.

The Knights' winning started in the 5,000 Friday when sophomore Shaelyn Hostager was the 5,000 winner in 17:52.75, topping junior teammate Paulson, who ran 18:01.55. Loras senior Brianna Renner was third in 18:05.09. Hostager is a former Dubuque Hempstead prep.

Former Waukee High standout Lily Campbell, a Wartburg junior, was the 800 champion after holding off Burds by .09 of a second to win in 2:16.76. Wartburg freshman Haley Meyer was third in 2:16.85. Meyer is a former Kee of Lansing runner.

Wartburg also won the DMR Friday, with Ellie Meyer, freshman Aricka Lambson, Haley Meyer and Fisher running 11:59.57 to top Loras in an exciting finish. Loras was just .4 of a second back after the 4,000-meter race. Ellie Meyer is a sophomore and former Iowa Falls-Alden prep. Lambson is from Waukee and attended Carlisle.

Loras' quartet included Ellie Osterberger, Stevie Lambe, Burds and Kaylee Osterberger, also a senior and former Dubuque Wahlert prep. Senior Lambe is a former Dubuque Senior athlete.

Returning to the NCAA Division I ranks and the ACC indoor meet, where former Iowa State standout Amanda Vestri finished fourth in the women's 5,000 Friday in Louisville, Ky. The 2021 champion ran 16:05.17, just .42 behind teammate Savannah Roark. The champion was N.C. State star Kelsey Chmiel in 15:55.54. Vestri added a ninth-place finish in the 3,000 final Saturday in 9:15.23.

The Liberty University teams captured both titles on their home Brant Tolsma Indoor Track at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex. The Lady Flames repeated as Atlantic Sun champions and assisting them was former Mid-Prairie prep Anna Hostetler. The Liberty senior placed eighth in the 5,000 in 17:24.32 and added another eighth in the 3,000 in 9:43.62. Teammate Calli Doan won both races, in 16:35.87 and 9:24.67.

Sister and sophomore Marie Hostetler anchored the Liberty DMR to runner-up honors in 11:42.50, just over seven seconds behind Kennesaw State. Hostetler also finished 10th in the mile finals in 5:06.31.

The Liberty men won the conference title for the fifth consecutive season and helping the cause was former Iowa Western great Nicholas Kiprotich. The sophomore placed sixth in the 5,000 Friday in 14:21.19 and followed with a ninth-place effort in the 3,000 in 8:18.36. North Florida's Aidan O'Gorman won both races, in 14:02.90 and 8:06.52.

Moving to NCAA Division II, where former Indianola High standout Bailey Blake captured her first MIAA championship in Pittsburg, Kan. The sophomore ran 2:12.01, third best in the prelims, and followed with a winning time of 2:10.50 that gets her a provisional time for indoor nationals.

Former Garner-Hayfield-Ventura prep star Reece Smith contributed to two runner-up finishes. On Saturday, Smith ran anchor on the Bearcats' DMR that placed second in 9:52.65. That time is sixth best in school history for Northwest, which qualified for nationals with a 9:42.85 run earlier this season.

Smith also was runner-up in the 3,000 Sunday after running 8:00.96. That time got the junior to nationals. Ryan Riddle of Missouri Southern was the champion in 7:57.96.

Former Cedar Falls prep and Northwest senior Caroline Cunningham placed second in the 5,000 run in 17:30.98. Cunningham also ran to an eighth-place finish in the mile on Sunday in 5:02.68. Cunningham has qualified for nationals in the mile. The Bearcats finished runner-up in the team race with 130 points.

Back to the Missouri Valley meet, where Drake junior Brooke Mullins placed third overall Sunday in the 5,000. Mullins ran 16:42.71. Sophomore teammate Carmen Krawczynski Gonzalez narrowly missed scoring after placing ninth in 17:07.24.

The next day, Mullins moved into second all-time in Drake history after clocking 9:28.71 for silver medal in the 3,000. Mullins trailed only Bradley's Nicola Jansen (9:22.20). Freshman teammate Katherine Lawson ran 10:00.76. Northern Iowa was paced by sophomore and former Waverly-Shell Rock and Hawkeye Community College runner Emma Hoins in 10:06.31.

Drake sophomore Enzo Marie ran a fine time of 14:27.00 to place sixth. The winner was Bradley's George Watson in 14:11.63.

Drake sophomore Emilie Meyer finished fourth in the women's 800 final after running 2:15.83. Meyer also was sixth in the mile final in 5:02.68 while junior Barbara Vrhovac claimed eighth in 5:04.59. Meyer had run 4:57.29 and Vrhovac a personal-best 4:59.31 in the prelims. Former Southeast Polk prep Mattison Plummer, now running for Illinois State, clocked 4:57.06 in the prelims before crossing the line in the final in 5:08.10.

Shifting back to NCAA Division III, where Cornell freshman Thomas Coble continued a string of Midwest Conference champions in the men's 3,000, topping a field of 25 at Illinois College on Saturday in 8:48.31. Coble topped Grinnell junior Brian Goodell by .81 of a second. Cornell runners have now claimed five of the past six conference 3,000 indoor titles.

Coble nearly took a second Midwest title in the DMR. Goodell was nipped at the line by .01 of a second by Ripon's anchor, Jonah Decleene, with the Rams timed in 10:30.17. Other team members were junior Noah Lutzke (1,200), freshman Jaxin McGuire and sophomore Gabe Hunt.

The news was good for Goodell, who on Friday won the 5,000 crown in 15:08.48. Goodell topped Decleene by 1.73 seconds.

On Friday, Cornell sophomore Gabe Soda finished runner-up in the men's mile after running 4:19.86. Soda, a Madrid High graduate, was .98 of a second behind Ripon's Rainier Villanueva.

Grinnell also had a conference champion with freshman Keely Miyamoto in the 3,000 Saturday. Miyamoto covered the distance in 10:18.91 to win by more than four seconds. Miyamoto also took runner-up honors in the 5,000 the day before in 17:58.00. The winner was Ripon's Mikayla Flyte in 17:50.74.

Moving back to the roads, where two Running Wild Elite athletes set course records at the Chili Chase 4 Mile event at Credit Island in Davenport. Devin Allbaugh, a former Pleasant Valley prep standout, ran 19:28 to top the 19:50 mark of Steve Froeschle set last year. That time also is a club record for Allbaugh, who is the RWE men's team coordinator. Former Marion High and Mount Mercy prep standout Annie Ertz was the women's winner in 23:34, breaking the 18-year-old course record by three seconds. Ertz now owns the club record as well after topping Kelsey Allbaugh's 24:15 time at Chili Chase from a year ago.

The men's runner-up was teammate and former Augustana College athlete Mike Gille in 19:42. Eldon native and former Grand View University runner Trevor Albert of Altoona was third in 20:03. Dan Froeschle of Davenport was fourth in 20:30, with Elliott Klauer of Bettendorf fifth in 20:58. Froeschle is a former Davenport Assumption prep. Klauer is a former Pleasant Valley prep and Iowa State student. All are Running Wild athletes.

Kelsey Allbaugh, the women's team coordinator for RWE, ran 24:08 for runner-up honors. She is from Bettendorf. Deanna Newhouse, a former Iowa State student and Mount Mercy and Linn-Mar runner, was third in 24:27. Maggie McPherson of Davenport was fourth in 25:02, with Brenna Gray fifth in 25:08. All are RWE athletes.

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 Mike Jasa, Eleonora Curtabbi, Isaac Basten, Drake Hanson, Hilda Olemomoi, Nehemia Too, Biya Simbassa, Spencer Moon