Mt. Mercy Men's Cross Country

Mustangs take 2nd at Gallop

The Mount Mercy women's and men's cross country teams both placed second at the 26th Annual Mustang Gallop at Seminole Valley Park Friday.

Andrea Ertz placed fifth for the Mount Mercy women in 15 minutes, 28.6 seconds for four kilometers. Jacob Blackmon finished sixth for the Mount Mercy men in 16:07.1 for five kilometers.

Iowa Central won both races.

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Lindstrom sizzles at NAIA race

James Lindstrom took a bow, raised his arms in celebration and hugged everyone in sight.

It was a fitting conclusion to a near-perfect day for the talented senior from Apple Valley, Calif.

Lindstrom became the first runner from Mount Mercy to earn All-American honors when he finished sixth at the NAIA national cross country meet at Seminole Valley Park on Friday.

Nobody else from Mount Mercy had ever finished in the top-30 until Lindstrom ran the race of his life, slashing more than 82 seconds off his previous-best with an astonishing performance.

"I can't believe I did that," he said after taking another curtain call before teammates and friends. "It's still going through my head. But it feels amazing, I can tell you that right now."

Nobody from Mount Mercy had ever cracked the top-30 at an NAIA national meet until Lindstrom came along.

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Lindstrom, Cortes excited about NAIA races

James Lindstrom and Vanessa Cortes could have run all the way to Cedar Rapids from their homes in California with all the miles they've registered with the Mount Mercy cross country teams during their careers.

Now Lindstrom and Cortes will be running the most significant miles of their lives - actually, kilometers - when they compete in the 63rd annual NAIA national cross country meets at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids on Friday.

The women's 5K race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., with the men's 8K race to follow at 11:30.

Lindstrom, a senior from Apple Valley, Calif., finished third at the Heart of America Conference meet two weeks ago and is aiming for All-American honors at the NAIA meet. Cortes, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif., placed fourth at the conference meet and is hoping for a solid performance as well.

There will be 36 full teams in each race, along with 93 at-large individuals in the women's contest and 83 at-large runners in the men's competition. That makes for approximately 700 runners all told.

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700 runners coming to C.R. for NAIA races

Nearly 700 runners from 30 states will be descending upon Cedar Rapids this week for the NAIA national cross country meets at Seminole Valley Park.

The women's 5-kilometer race is set for Friday at 10:30 a.m., with the men's 8-kilometer event scheduled for 11:30.

Mount Mercy University is the host school and has received automatic berths in the championships, which feature 36 women's teams and 36 men's teams in each race along with nearly 200 individuals who qualified as at-large contestants.

Mount Mercy has been working with city officials and more than 100 community volunteers to stage the event. It's the first time the 63rd annual NAIA national meet has been held in Cedar Rapids and will bring an estimated $500,000 economic boost to the local economy.

"It's quite an enterprise," said Jamie Jimison, the director of cross country and track at Mount Mercy. "There have been a lot of cogs in the machine that have helped this thing go."

Mount Mercy has a solid cross country program, among the best in the Heart of America Conference, and Jimison is confident the national meet will boost their  program in terms of exposure, recruitment and a commitment to compete on a national level.

"Mount Mercy is a small school, but we have aspirations to do big things," he said. "I think this is a sign of what our goals are.

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