Isahak Checks Off Meet Champion, Leads Cobbers To Carleton Crown
Munir Isahak recorded his first collegiate individual championship at a meet and helped Concordia take the team title at the Carleton Invite.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (9/25/21)---You can officially check "meet champion" off Munir Isahak's "Things To-Do Before I Graduate" list.
Isahak ran away from the competition at the Carleton Invite to win his first-ever individual championship at a meet. Isahak clocked a 26:11.1 over the 8K course and won by almost 27 seconds.
Isahak's winning performance also helped Concordia capture the team championship at the meet as they had four athletes finish in the Top 10. CC finished with a team total of 36 which was nine points ahead of second-place Macalester.
The first-place team finish caps a Cape Canaveral countdown of meet finishes for Concordia. They were third at the season-opening UND Invite then dropped to second at the MSU Moorhead Twilight and completed the 3-2-1 improvement on Saturday.
The team title also marks the first time Concordia has won a meet since the 2018 season when they won the Jamestown Invite.
Isahak's first-place finish was also a testament to his improvement over the past two seasons. In 2019, he finished in ninth place at the same meet with a time of 26:31.2. He has now dropped time over his previous performances at the last two meets. Isahak has also placed in the Top 5 in all three of the Cobber meets this year.
Sophomore Leo Smith, junior Tanner Olson and freshman Joe Lee all came across the line in under 27:20. Smith led the trio of Top 10 finishers with a time of 26:44.2 which earned him third place and his first collegiate Top 3 finish. Olson barely missed out on a sub 27-minute 8K. He came home in 27:05.6 and was fifth. Lee recorded his third straight 20 finish to start his collegiate career – and each meet he has steadily moved up the standings list. He opened with an 18th-place finish at UND, he was then 11th at MSU Moorhead and on Saturday he climbed to eighth place with a time of 27:17.8.
Senior track All-American Jesse Middendorf was the fifth member of the team's scoring squad. He crossed the line in 27:54.3 which was good for 19th place and his first Top 20 finish of the year.
Solomon Johnson gave the Cobbers six harriers in the Top 25. He was 22nd with a mark of 28:00.1.
UP NEXT: Concordia will have almost two weeks before their next competition. CC will look to continue their season success when they race in the Jamestown Invitational on Friday, Oct. 8. The Cobbers will spend next weekend hosting the annual Homecoming 5K Fun Run which starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.