Kortze, Hohnholt take weekly GPAC cross country honors
Concordia’s nationally-ranked cross country programs continue to dominate weekly GPAC honors. Senior Sarah Kortze and junior Hayden Hohnholt have been named GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Cross Country Runners of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.
The announcement marks the third such award for each of head coach Kregg Einspahr’s men’s and women’s squads. Kortze has now won Runner of the Week honors three times this season having also been cited on Sept. 19 and Oct. 10 by the GPAC. She was also named NAIA National Runner of the Week on Sept. 19.
In her most recent performance, the Rockford, Ill., native raced to a first place overall finish for the first time this season while clocking in at 17:53 in the 5K to best a field of 141 competitors at the Mount Marty Invite in Yankton, S.D., on Oct. 20. Participants included individuals from eight GPAC schools along with four additional programs. Kortze’s outstanding effort powered the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs to a third place team finish.
For the first time this season, Hohnholt captures Runner of the Week honors on the men’s side after sophomore Ben Sievert collected the award on Sept. 19 and Oct. 10. Hohnholt, who hails from Saratoga, Wyo., took fourth place overall among 162 individuals at the Mount Marty Invite with a time of 25:52 in the 8K race. Honholt’s efforts helped 18th-ranked Concordia to a second place finish out of 14 teams in Yankton.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Nov. 3 when the GPAC Championships are held in McCook Lake, S.D., a flat course that also served as the venue for the Briar Cliff Invite. Both the men and women hope to make it to the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Wash., on Nov. 17.