30 Years In The Making
Senior Munir Isahak ran away from the competition at the MIAC Championship Meet and became the first Concordia athlete to win the individual championship since 1991.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (10/30/21)----The Money Man delivered. Senior Munir Isahak ran away from the competition at the MIAC Championship Meet and became the first Concordia athlete to win the individual championship since 1991.
Isahak bolted out with the runners in the conference in the lead pack. He was running just off the shoulder of the race leader from Carleton 2 before making his kick in the final two kilometers of the 8K race. He sprinted into a big lead with 400 meters to go and won the race by almost 9 full seconds.
His winning mark of 24:50.2 is the seventh fastest in conference meet history.
Isahak becomes the first Cobber athlete to win the title since Jason Trichler accomplished the feat in 1991 after the meet was postponed by two days after the Halloween blizzard. Isahak also becomes the third Cobber ever to win the conference meet. Mark Lingle was the very first Concordia harrier to capture the crown which came in 1987.
Isahak's first-place finish helped Concordia to its best conference finish since 1999. The Cobbers placed fifth in the final team standings, and had all five of their scoring runners finish in the Top 40 with a trio of Top 20 finishers.
A pair of conference meet newcomers were the Cobber's No.2 and No.3 finishers. Leo Smith recorded a time of 26:01.9 and placed 17th, while Tanner Olson was less than 2-seconds behind and crossed the line in 26:03.7 and was 18th. By virtue of their Top 25 finish, Smith and Olson both earned MIAC All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.
Senior Jesse Middendorf posted his best finish at a conference cross country meet. He has been getting faster each week and on Saturday covered the course in 26:29.1 which put him in 28th place. Not only was his finish his best at the conference, but his time is also a career best over an 8K course.
Freshman Joey Lee wasn't fazed by his first MIAC Meet. He clocked a 26:43.3 which is a season best and placed 39th at the meet.
UP NEXT: Isahak will attempt to qualify for the NCAA National Meet when the Cobbers compete at the North Region Meet on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the White Tail GC in Colfax, Wis.