LC participates in national cross country meet

[NOV. 9, 2004]  EL PASO, Texas -- Dana Griffin, a freshman from Quincy, became the second all-American pick from Lincoln College as she finished in 31st place in the NJCAA national cross country race here this past weekend. Christien Taitt finished ninth in the nation in 2002 as the only other Lady Lynx to earn the honor.

"Dana had a rough day," said Lincoln coach Erin Verbeck. "She ran great for two miles and then started having difficulty breathing in the final mile. Up until that time, she was in the top 20. We expected her to be in the top 15, so we were a bit disappointed, but we couldn't control the altitude."

The Lincoln College men's team placed 14th in the national meet, with Clint Wombles, a sophomore from Rockford, leading the way in 45th place with a time of 26:54. Mike Verre, a freshman from Moline, came in 54th, and Craig Frederiksen, also a freshman from Moline, placed 64th. Rounding out the scoring for Lincoln College were Dave Stouffer, a freshman from Maple Park, in 88th and Tim Jenkins, a freshman from Pittsfield, in 132nd place.

"Some very good things happened for us, as we broke into Rend Lake College's top seven with two of our runners -- something we did not do at the region meet two weeks ago," Verbeck said. "Tim (Jenkins) stepped back into his position as number five runner and Clint (Wombles) had an outstanding day.

"We are a young team who graduates only one sophomore out of our top seven. We will be even better next year as these athletes get more experience. I am especially proud of this men's team, as they worked hard together all season long as a team and all ran with everything they had. They are a great representation for Lincoln College."

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College]

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