DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Simpson men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the IIAC Championships at Loras on Saturday, with both the men and women taking fifth of eight teams. 

(*Simpson fell to fifth place on a tie-breaker with Central)

Luther’s Tricia Serres won the women’s race at a time of 22:39.2 ( six kilometer course – 3.73 miles) while Cole Decker of Central took the men’s with a 26:17.2 (eight-kilometer course – 4.97 miles) 

Loras is a hilly course, and many runners dislike hills. Sophomore Sadie Timms likes them.

“This course has some hills and I really like hills. I think I can use them to my advantage because I like them and that’s not how most people think.” Timms said.

She said her strategy for hills is to use them as a way of breaking up the race. Each hill is like a goal and reaching the top of the hill is achieving that goal.

Timms is also prepared for any kind of weather, and she had to be as the course was wet and windy on Saturday.

“If it is windy it impacts everybody,” Timms said. “The same goes for rain and the temperature.”

Wind is easy. Timms said she would push through when it was against her and use it as an advantage when it was with her. As far as temperature, she prefers it a little bit colder. 

Going into conference this year she felt good. She had acclimated to the mileage and season length now and her times have improved since last season.

Her goal was to be all-conference and to keep improving for the regional meet on Nov. 14.

Timms, the junior took 20th of 126 runners with a time of 24:51.5, missing her all-conference goal by five spots as the top 15 receive such honors.

Coach Heath Moenck had similar goals.

“Last time Simpson has had an all-conference runner was Catie Ellingson when she placed 2^nd in 2010,” Moenck said.

He also wanted the women and men to both place 5^th, and they matched his expectations. The women’s fifth place finish was their best since 2009.

This is the first time since 2012 that the men finished fifth, and the women’s best finish since 2009, when they got 4^th. 

Junior Blake Willadsen placed 17^th to lead the men, missing all-conference honors by just two spots. Willadsen finished the course in 27:38.3.

The top seven runners from each team will run in the regional meet at Central College on Nov. 14.