The 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship at the Pheasant Ridge G.C. in Cedar Falls, Iowa, went well for the pre-race favorites as the Southern Illinois men and the Wichita State women claimed team titles. Individually, Southern Illinois' Jeff Schirmer and Wichita State's Kellyn Johnson were crowned champions in contrasting fashion, with Schirmer leading a pack of three Salukis across the finish line less than three seconds apart and Johnson running away from the women's field, winning by 21 seconds over UNI's Traci Hawley.

The men's team championship is the first for Southern Illinois since sharing the title with Indiana State in 2004 and 11th in school history, while the women's crown for Wichita State is the third-consecutive for the Shockers and the 8th women's cross country title in school history.

\Matt Sparks of Southern Illinois and Marc Burns of Wichita State were named Coaches of the Year for men and women, respectively. With their wins at the conference meet, Jeff Schirmer of Southern Illinios and Kellyn Johnson of Wichita State were named Athletes of the Year.

 

2007 All-MVC Men's Cross Country	Time
1. Jeff Schirmer, SIU	24:31.47
2. Mohamed Mohamed, SIU*&	24:33.80
3. Kevin Doran, SIU*	24:34.07
4. Scott Krapf, ILS	24:40.60
5. Dorian Ulrey, UNI*	24:43.63
6. Jordan Anderson, ILS	24:46.68
7. Scott Keeney, INS*	24:50.00
8. Mike Richardson, ILS	24:51.22
9. Randy Placenia, INS	24:51.78
10. John Krumsee, CU	24:52.40

*2006 All-MVC; &2005 All-MVC
Coach of the Year: Matt Sparks, Southern Illinois
Athlete of the Year: Jeff Schirmer, Southern Illinois
 

2007 All-MVC Women's Cross Country	Time
1. Kellyn Johnson, WSU	16:59.53
2. Traci Hawley, UNI*	17:20.40
3. Mica Land, WSU*&	17:29.58
4. Carrie Vestal, MSU	17:37.78
5. Jamie Vest, MSU	17:39.28
6. Suzy Turner, ILS	17:40.71
7. Asher Kyger, MSU	17:42.61
8. Caedryn Schrunk, UNI*&	17:43.51
9. A'Seret Dokubo, SIU	17:44.95
10. Olivia Martinez, WSU	17:49.33

*2006 All-MVC; &2005 All-MVC
Coach of the Year: Marc Burns, Wichita State
Athlete of the Year: Kellyn Johnson, Wichita State

Men's Race Recap
A sweep of the top three places gave Southern Illinois the Missouri Valley Conference men's cross country championship Saturday, with sophomore Jeff Schirmer claiming the individual title to lead a dominant effort by the Salukis.
Schirmer led a tightly-packed group of Salukis at the front over the final three kilometers of the 8K race at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, holding off teammate and defending Valley champion Mohamed Mohamed to score the crown in 24:31.47. That time was nearly five seconds below Schirmer's previous season-best effort.
Mohamed was second in 24:33.80, followed by SIU junior Kevin Doran, who was just behind in third with a time of 24:34.07.
The trio's strong finish, along with a 13th-place finish by sophomore Jason Ordway and a 16th-place showing by freshman Kyle Kirchner, easily gave the Salukis their 11th team title in school history. SIU tallied just 35 points to finish ahead of runner-up Illinois State (52 points) and third-place Indiana State (73).
The Redbirds' Scott Krapf was fourth overall with a time of 24:34 to finish ahead of UNI sophomore Dorian Ulrey, who was fifth in 24:43 to lead the Panthers. It was the second the second top-five finish in as many tries at the championship meet for Ulrey, who was runner-up to Mohamed as a freshman in 2006.
Illinois State's Jordan Anderson was sixth in 24:47 while another Redbird, Mike Richardson, was eighth in 24:52. The duo sandwiched the Sycamores' top entry, sophomore Scott Keeney, who was seventh in 24:50.
Creighton took fourth in the team race, led by senior John Krumsee's 10th-place finish, which came in a time of 24:53. Drake's Barry Hill was 11th in 24:57 to lead the Bulldogs, who finished fifth in the team standings.
Wichita State took sixth as a team, led by junior Scott Reed's 18th-place showing with a time of 25:21, while UNI took home seventh on the strength of Ulrey's top-five finish and career-best times by seniors Chris Lawson (23rd) and Mike Clancy (31st).
Bradley's Chris George led the way for the Braves with a 17th-place showing in 25:21, while Greg Pulscher, who led early in the race, was 20th to lead Evansville in 25:26.
Courtesy UNI Sports Information

Women's Race Recap
A runaway win for Kellyn Johnson propelled the Wichita State women's cross country team to its third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference title Saturday, as the Shockers placed three runners in the top 10 to take the women's crown at the 2007 State Farm MVC Championships.
The Shockers saw their top four runners finish below the 18-minute mark on the 5-kilometer course at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls, Iowa, led by Johnson's time of 16:59.53. That showing, just two seconds off her season-best time, was good enough to keep Johnson some 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Traci Hawley of UNI.
Hawley, a senior, turned in a time of 17:20.40 to break the Panthers' school 5K record and help UNI to a third-place team finish. It was Hawley's second consecutive top-three finish at the MVC Championships.
Mica Land, who was sixth a year ago, finished third in 17:29.58 to boost Wichita State's championship effort, finishing just ahead of the Missouri State duo of Carrie Vestal (17:38) and Jamie Vest (17:40), who finished fourth and fifth to push the Bears to a second-place finish in the team race. Senior Asher Kyger's seventh-place finish in 17:43 also aided the Bears' team score,as the top three Missouri State runners set season-best times.
Illinois State's Suzy Turner was sixth in 17:41 to lead the Redbirds' fourth-place effort in the team standings, finishing ahead of Kyger and UNI junior Caedryn Schrunk, who finished eighth for the second consecutive season in 17:44.
Sophomore A'Seret Dokubo led the way for Southern Illinois with a ninth-place finish in 17:45, just ahead of the Shockers' Olivia Martinez, who rounded out the top 10 with a time of 17:50.
Kayla Alexander was Indiana State's top finisher, taking 11th in 17:52 to help the Sycamores to a fifth-place finish in the team race. Drake, which finished sixth as a team, got a 13th-place finish out of junior Nicole Braunsdorf, who at 17:59.68, was the last of 13 runners who clocked in below the 18-minute mark.
Only seven Valley runners had cracked the 18-minute barrier entering Saturday's meet.
Megan Foste was 14th in 18:03 to lead Creighton, which finished ninth as a team, while Bradley's Katie Nowak was 19th in 18:16 to lead the Braves, who finished eighth in the final standings.
Evansville was led by Andrea Sonnenschein, who clocked in at 18:06 to finish 16th.
The Shockers' title is the eighth all time for Wichita State and second in as many tries for second-year head coach Marc Burns.
Courtesy UNI Sports Information