2011 Midwest Conference Cross Country Championships at Ceresco Prairie in Ripon, Wisconsin
Results
Women's Championship
Emma Swanson '12
The Prairie Fire was led by senior Emma Swanson (West Des Moines, Iowa), who set a new school record in the 6K.
Swanson finished the race in 24:13, besting the previous top time of 24:33 set by Ellie Dust in 2003. She placed 32nd overall in a strong field of runners.
Senior Brenna DeGan (Naperville, Illinois) also set a career-best time. Her 26:09 ranks as the 25th best performance of all-time and is 10th on the women's cross country Top 25 Individuals by Time list.
Five other Prairie Fire runners added their names to the all-time indidviduals list.
Sophomore Yael Cody (Highland Park, Illinois) finished in 26:20 for 13th place, first-year Jade Ivy (Chicago, Illinois) followed with a time of 26:35 for 15th place all-time, first-year Esmeralda Alvarez (Chicago, Illinois) is 16th with her 26:37, first-year Sara Stavile (Kittredge, Colorado) crossed the finish line in 27:00 for 20th, and senior Laura Mills (Brookville, Maryland) finished in 27:16 to rank 25th.
Knox placed ninth in the team standings. Grinnell College won the championship. Monmouth College, St. Norbert College, Carroll University, and Lawrence University rounded out the top five.
Men's Championship
Kevin Box '12
Two runners for the Fire had an exceptional day - senior Kevin Box (Naperville, Illinois) and sophomore Gabe Moreno (Galesburg, Illinois) - while the team had its best finish in nearly a decade.
Box finished seventh individually with his time of 25:46, which ranks #2 on the men's cross country Top 25 Best Performances list. Moreno ran the race in 26:10 and was 12th overall. His time is tied for the 10th best performance of all-time and ranks seventh on the Top 25 Individuals by Time list.
Gabe Moreno '14
Both Box and Moreno earned All-Midwest Conference recognition for their performances, which are the best by Knox men's runners since 2000 when Dennis Fricks and Paul Grinis finished seventh and 12th, respectively.
Junior Jacob Buddell (Lake Bluff, Illinois) ran a time of 27:35, placing him #24 on the individuals list.
The Prairie Fire finished fifth in the team standings, the program's highest placement since the 2003 season.
Lawrence University was the team champion, followed by Grinnell College, Monmouth College, and Carroll University.
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