Elsah, Illinois –This morning the men's and women's cross country teams competed in the 2019 American Midwest Conference Championships. The men's team tied for first place out of 10 teams with a score of 42 points and the women's team was named AMC Champions as well, coming in first out of 10 teams with 33 points. This is the men's sixth consecutive and seventh overall AMC Championship while the women's team claims the championship for the third consecutive year.

With the wins, both the men's and women's cross country teams have qualified for the 2019 NAIA Cross Country National Championships later this month. Following the conclusion of the race, head coach Tracy Jex and assistant coach Daniel Radkowiec were recognized as both the men's and women's AMC Cross Country Staff of the Year. This is their third career AMC Men's Cross Country Staff of the Year Award and their second AMC Women's Cross Country Staff of the Year Award.

Alexander Dukes was named AMC Male Runner of the Year, Brianna Haller was awarded AMC Female Runner of the Year for the second consecutive year, and Grace Brinkman was named AMC Freshmen of the Year.

The men's side was led by Alexander Dukes who was the individual champion out of 92 runners in the 8k race with a time of 25:52. In addition, Malik Holman finished eight (26:56), Mason Gaines took ninth (26:57), Grant Uthlaut  placed 11^th (27:14), and Dean Frossard finished 13^th (27:17) to round out the top performers. Gaines was recognized as All-Conference, Dukes received his second consecutive All-Conference nod, and Holman received his fourth consecutive All-Conference award. Holman is just the 10^th individual to have achieved this in the AMC.

Columbia Men's Finishers
Alexander Dukes – 1^st (25:52)
Malik Holman – 8^th (26:56)
Mason Gaines   – 9^th (26:57)
Grant Uthlaut - 11^th (27:14)
Dean Frossard- 13^th (27:17)
Brock Fisher – 14^th (27:27)
Travis Line – 17^th (27:37)
Ben Huskey – 18^th (27:46)
Jacob Jenkins  - 22^nd (28:06)
Alex Krieg – 24^th (28:18)
Ryker Grove – 29^th (29:00)
Ethan Line – 36^th (29:22)
Noah Strawn – 42^nd (29:34)
Noah Payne – 70^th (34:26)


For the complete men's results, click here.
 
The women's team was led by Brianna Haller who was the individual champion for the second straight year, finishing first out of 83 runners in the 5k race with a time of 18:56. Naomi Payne placed fifth with a time of 19:10, Mikayla Sehlmeyer took sixth (19:10), Grace Brinkman placed 10^th (19:25), and Kyla Bertschinger finished 11^th (19:36) to round out the scoring for the Cougars. Haller, Payne, Sehlmeyer and Brinkman received All-Conference recognition.

Columbia Women's Finishers
Brianna Haller – 1^st (18:56) 
Naomi Payne- 5^th (19:10)
Mikayla Sehlmeyer – 6^th (19:10)
Grace Brinkman  - 10^th (19:25)
Kyla Bertschinger – 11^th (19:36)
Jada O' Donnell – 12^th (19:38)
Emma Homfeldt – 23^rd (20:43)
Megan Korte – 36^th (21:48)
Alyssa Struemph – 39^th (22:16)
Lucia Vega – 42^th (22:37)
 
For the complete women's results, click here.

Prior to the start of the race, the American Midwest Conference announced the AMC Academic All-Conference Awards for the 2019 season. The Cougars had 18 individuals recognized including 11 from the men's team and seven from the women's team. Alexander Dukes, Ben Huskey, Carter Brocato, Dean Frossard, Ethan Line, Grant Uthlaut, Jacob Jenkins, Jerod Rottinghaus, Malik Holman, Mason Gaines, Travis Line, Brianna Haller, Daylin Huebotter, Kyla Bertschinger, Lucia Vega, Megan Korte, Mikayla Sehlmeyer, and Victoria Vegher were all honored with the award. To be eligible for Academic All-Conference honors, student-athletes must be in their second semester at their AMC institution, have at least a 3.0 GPA and finish the year on the team.

The men's and women's cross country teams will conclude their season on Friday, November 22 when they travel to Vancouver, Washington to compete in the 2019 NAIA Cross Country National Championships.