Results

PELLA, Iowa - The Bethel University men's cross country team ran to an 11th place finish at the Central Region Championship cross country meet in Pella, Iowa while star senior Matt Berens finished 7th individually to earn another trip to the NCAA National Championships next Saturday. Running on a soft course and in unseasonably warm temperatures in the middle 60's, the Royals showed great improvement overall, finishing just 12 and 16 points behind a pair of nationally ranked MIAC squads in Carleton and St. Thomas.

"I thought the men competed extremely well and had their best meet of the season," said Bethel head coach Joe Stephens. "They started as a pack and then steadily moved up during the race. We definitely surprised some people today and I am so proud of them."

Berens ran a solid race to finish seventh and lock up a spot in the national meet with a time of 25:41.

"Matt ran well and ran smart, doing what he needed to do to move on and he will be fully ready for the national meet," coach Stephens said.

Finishing second for the Royals behind Berens was freshman Evan Hatton in 53rd place at 27:01.

"Evan went out really aggressive which I asked him to do and he held tough," coach Stephens explained. "He needs that experience as he has the potential to be really good at this level in the future."

Senior Tom Ritter and junior Connor Haugen put together solid races as they finished 61st and 68th at 27:11 and 27:25 respectively. Both places were huge jumps from their 2014 finishes of 82nd and 99th place.

"I am so proud of Tom and Connor with the improvements they made," coach Stephens said.

Another freshman rounded out the scoring for Bethel in fifth place and 81st overall in Anders Rasmussen (27:38). Two sophomores were sixth and seventh for Bethel in Christian Svennes and David Huffman. Svennes finished 94th and Huffman finished 120th with times of 27:54 and 28:27 respectively.

The 2014 Royals had just two runners finish in the top 100 while six Royals finished in the top 94, showcasing both the improvement and future potential for the Bethel men.

"To be 11th out of 29 teams is just awesome for this group," said Bethel's first year head coach. "Today was a really good indication of how this men's team is moving forward and I am excited to watch Matt run next week."

Berens will compete at the NCAA Division III National Championship s next Saturday in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.