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GRINNELL, Iowa – Illinois College will serve as the host of the 2017 Midwest Conference (MWC) Men’s Cross Country Championship.  Lawrence University’s Josh Janusiak is back to defend his individual crown, while Grinnell College is seeking its sixth straight team title. 

Championship Page

The Pioneers have won five straight league championships and should face some intense competition from Cornell College.  The Rams currently rank sixth in the U. S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Central Region rankings while Grinnell sits in 10^th. 

John Lennon is the only Pioneer that ranks in the top-10 in the league and was the runner-up to Janusiak last fall.  Jackson Schulte should add his second All-MWC medal to his trophy case this weekend and junior teammates Daniel Krewson and Pieter Hansen are hoping to do so as well.  Schulte, Krewson and Hansen enter the weekend with the 12^th-, 13^th- and 14^th-best times, respectively.  Senior Stewart Bass and sophomore Matt Phipps are also in position to earn all-conference honors. 

The Rams feature four of the top seven runners in the MWC and beat the Pioneers earlier this season at Carleton College.  The Pioneers also defeated the Rams on their home course at the Les Duke Invitational. 

Cornell’s Mason Wicker and Austin Bach should also challenge Janusiak for the individual title.  Bach has earned All-MWC honors the past two seasons, while Wicker is aiming for a medal for the first time.  Cuyler Gabriel ranks sixth in the league and is coming off of a ninth-place finish at last season’s championship, while Caleb Wilson finished third at the 2016 Championship and will need another strong finish if the Rams want to unseat the Pioneers.  If the Rams win the title, it will be their first since 1961.    

With Janusiak leading the way, Lawrence is poised to finish in the top half of league again this fall.  The junior has been named the MWC Performer of the Week three times this fall and is attempting to become the first back-to-back champion since Frank Canday of Grinnell in 2012-13.  Sophomore Joe Kortenhof finished sixth in the league last season and has the eighth-best time so far this year.  Ben Schaefer and freshman Cullen Allard will also be important to the Vikings’ success.   

Monmouth College finished second at last season’s championship meet and is led by returning all-conference runners Tate Heiple and Cooper Pauley.  Pauley ranks fourth in the conference entering the meet, while Heiple is ranked 17^th. 

Lake Forest College will be led by Jorge Villanueva and Jon Stern in their quest to move up from fifth in the league standings.  Villanueva took 15^th at last season’s championship and enters Saturday’s meet with a top-10 time.  Stern was an all-conference performer in 2014 and 2015, but finished in 37^th last season.  He has produced the 11^th-best time in the conference this year.  The Foresters’ Philip Wilson is also within striking distance for All-MWC honors. 

Individually, Beloit College’s Daniel Arkes is in position for his second-straight All-MWC medal as is Ripon College’s Jarek Kish.  Knox College’s freshman Arthur Santoro ranks 22^nd in the league and is aiming for All-MWC honors in his first appearance in the championship, while St. Norbert College freshman Joe Gasick leads the way for the Green Knights. 

The gun will go off for the men’s race at 11:00 a.m. at The Links at Jacksonville.  The women’s race will follow at 12:00 p.m.