ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Junior Isaac vanWestrienen raced safely and swiftly into next weekend's NCAA meet with an impressive fourth-place effort at the Midwest Region Cross Country Championships Saturday on Saukie Golf Course.
 
The 2024 Midwest Conference champion claimed the best individual regional finish by a Cornell men's runner in more than three decades and secured a berth to the NCAA Division III Championships Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.
 
VanWestrienen beat 216 competitors with a quick 8K time of 24:23. He was only nine seconds behind overall champion Isaiah Hammerand of Wartburg.
 
VanWestrienen earned his second all-region medal, after taking 16th at the same meet a year ago. He'll make his second consecutive trip to nationals.  
 
Senior teammate Caleb Schopen clocked a personal-record 25:25 for 36th overall, just two seconds shy of the all-region cutoff.
 
Coach Jerry Frawley's Rams took eighth in the 31-team field with 238 points. That is the program's best regional showing since placing sixth in 2018.
 
The Rams also beat rival Coe in head-to-head dual scoring, 19-36, to claim one point in the 2024-25 Bremner Cup All-Sports Series.
 
Senior Gabe Soda crossed 53rd in 25:59. Fifth-year Noah Lutzke was 63rd in 26:13. Senior Ethyn Chesnut brought in Cornell's fifth score, placing 84th in 26:41.
 
Isaak Hutchings (103rd) and Tyler Bilskie (114th) rounded out Cornell's lineup.  
 
Wartburg nipped North Central for the team title, 44-48.