MOUNT VERNON, Iowa -- The Lawrence University men's cross country team dominated the field Saturday and won the Midwest Conference Championships title in a runaway.
    Lawrence took the crown with 34 points, and Grinnell College was a distant second with 62. The 28-point margin of victory is the second-largest for the Vikings in the modern era.
    "This team really bought into our goals from day one of summer training," Lawrence coach Jason Fast said. "They poured so much effort not just into all the mileage, but they also invested in each other and made that daily effort to create a great environment at practice and meets so that success could be possible for everyone."
    This is the third men's title during Fast's tenure as head coach as Lawrence also took titles in 2011 and 2021. Fast and assistant coach Shelby Baldwin were named the Coaching Staff of the Year. 
    Lawrence placed all five scorers in the top 12 and earned five all-conference honors (the top 20 finishers are all-conference).
    Ryan Cassiday led the way for the Vikings as he placed fourth. Cassiday covered the 8,000 meters at Seminole Valley Cross Country Course in 24:54.1.
    "Throughout the season this team made a lot of effort to make sure we had the right environment to succeed," Cassiday said. "Seeing all the work that we've put in pay off feels really electric."
    Nick Hansen was right on Cassiday's heels as he finished fifth in 25:02.6. Finn Lee was a tick behind Hansen as Lee took sixth in 25:14.9. Zach Meyer was next as he took seventh for the Vikings in 25:24.3. Caleb Hardy finished the scoring for the Vikings as he took 12th in 25:57.1.
    Cornell College's Isaac Van Westrienen was the individual champion and finished in 23:57.9.
    Max Reemtsma took 23rd in 26:36.5 for the Vikings, and Leigham Alexander was 32nd in 27:02.8 to round out Lawrence's top seven.
    This was the 11th men's conference title in Lawrence history, and Fast has now matched legendary coach Gene Davis with five league titles (three men's, two women's) to his credit. Davis won four titles on the men's side and one with the women.
    On the women's side, Lawrence finished fourth with 96 points, and Grinnell won with 40.
    Mila Westra led the way for the Vikings as she finished seventh by covering the 6,000 meters in 21:58.2. Joining Westra as an all-conference honoree was Lillian Courtnage-Dyke, who finished ninth in 22:04.4.
    Faith Onukaogu was next for Lawrence as she took 23rd in 23:02.8. Rachel Fleck grabbed 25th place in 23:16.6, and Laura Henze was 32nd in 23:50.2 to complete the scoring. Eli Wunderlich finished 40th in 25:34.6 to round out Lawrence's contingent.
    Lidia Dahlman of Cornell won the individual title in 21:00.2.