(Orange City, Iowa) – The Dordt University men’s cross country team had a record-setting day in winning the 2021 Great Plains Athletic Conference championship held Saturday at the Landsmeer Golf Club in Orange City.
The Defenders recorded a perfect score of 15 points in winning its fourth consecutive conference title. They broke the record, set by Doane in 1969, for the lowest team score (17pts). Doane was a distant second with 71 points, followed by Northwestern with 85.
Dordt runners finished 1st – 6th, led by GPAC champion Davis Tebben with an 8K time of 25:52. Tebben, last year’s GPAC runner-up, earned all-conference honors for the third time and posted his third top 10 finish of the season. This was the senior’s first collegiate win.
Jacob Vander Plaats was the second runner to cross the finish line and did so with a time of 26:04. Vander Plaats, now a four-time all-conference runner for the Defenders, has four top 10 finishes this season.
Eric Steiger, the GPAC Champion in 2018, placed third overall and finished the course in a time of 26:08. Nic Veldhorst was the next Dordt runner to cross the finish line and did so with a time of 26:09. Both Steiger and Veldhorst earned all-conference honors for the fourth time.
Joe Anderson rounds out the top five with a time of 26:18. Ethan Summerhays placed sixth (26:26) and Brooks DeWaard finished ninth (26:56). Anderson is a now a three-time all-conference runner and DeWaard earns the honor for the second time.
Trey Engen (13th – 27:04) and Peter Shippy (14th – 27:09) also earned all-conference honors. Thaniel Schroeder (22nd – 27:40) finished among the top 25.
“The men raced very well today winning their fourth consecutive GPAC team championship,” said Dordt Head Coach Nate Wolf. “Davis won his first collegiate race of his career, bettering his runner-up finish from a year ago, to finish as conference champion. The men’s team has been incredibly focused and disciplined all season and this was a culmination of their work and sacrifices. I am thankful for this group and the mature way they have trained and prepared this season. It is a special group to be able to coach.”
NEXT UP
The Defenders will compete at the NAIA National Cross Country Championship on Friday, Nov. 19 in Vancouver, Wash.
