WAVERLY - Kate Thompson played on the Wartburg College women's golf team that finished a school-best fourth place at the Division III national meet in 2006.

While Thompson labels that team "solid," she said the squad that will head to Port St. Lucie, Fla., for nationals next May is in a league of its own.

"At the risk of offending some alumni, this hands down is the strongest team I've been on at Wartburg," the senior from Webster City said.

It's difficult to argue with her rationale, especially after the sixth-ranked Knights won last weekend's Iowa Conference championship at Blank Park Golf Course in Des Moines by an overwhelming 53 strokes.

All five Wartburg players placed in the top 12, led by runner-up Steph Burns, Thompson (fourth) and Daina Deery (sixth).

Wartburg led the 72-hole event from wire-to-wire. With the title, the Knights earned their fourth trip to nationals in the last five years.

"We knew this year, if we didn't do anything stupid after the third round, we'd win," Thompson said. "This year has been unique. There's just been so much competition within our own squad to see who would play at the conference tournament.

"We've always said, if you could play six golfers, no team in the country would touch us."

Wartburg returned its entire team from last spring's 10th-place finish at nationals, but Jordan Galles and Rebecca Lewis didn't even earn a spot in the lineup for the IIAC meet. Ellen Rickert and freshman Paige Klostermann joined Burns, Thompson and Deery in the top five.

"The big difference with our team is, we don't have just one or two players that score for us," Burns said. "We have seven solid players."

Because of that, Thompson said this team has a special camaraderie.

"Playing in high school, I never thought of golf as a team sport," she said. "Coming to Wartburg, I really found out how important team chemistry is. If I have a bad hole, it's no big deal because there's someone else there to pick me up.

"Our success on the course is really dictated by our chemistry."

With their fall season complete, the Knights will do some indoor work this winter before preparing for the spring season.

"We are definitely at a disadvantage compared to teams in the southern states," Burns said. "That said, we're all steady enough players that it's not a huge factor for us.

"We're going to do a little more preparation this winter than we have in the past. We'll be ready."

Wartburg women

racing toward the front

The Wartburg women's cross country team heads into today's Dan Huston Invitational ranked third in the country by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Coached by Steve Johnson, the Knights have been paced this fall by junior Anna Kraayenbrink.

The Sioux Center native has finished in the top six in all three meets this season, including a third-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational two weeks ago in St. Paul, Minn. The team was second in the event that featured many Division I athletes.

The Wartburg women will be challenged today as the field includes No. 5 UW-La Crosse and Iowa Conference foes Central, Cornell and Simpson.

Prior to the start of the 10:45 a.m. womens' race, Wartburg will dedicate the new athletics' office suite located in the Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center and the new on-campus cross country course.

The suite will be named after long-time athletic director and coach John Kurtt, who served as the AD from 1964 to 1991.

The newly built cross country course will be dedicated at 10 a.m., in honor of the late Dr. Herbert Max and his family. The initial course construction, located along 12th Street NW, was made possible due to gifts from the Max family.

Quick hitters

The Upper Iowa University volleyball team is making rapid improvement under first-year head coach Shari Robertson. The Peacocks, who have never won more than 11 matches in a season and are coming off a 4-26 campaign in 2007, were 10-9 heading into this weekend's road matches at Minnesota State-Mankato and Southwest Minnesota State.

UIU, 2-34 in Northern Sun Conference play the previous two years, is 2-6 this year in conference action. Setter Keri Vance is seventh in the league in assists at 9.4 per game, while Sara Vance has 31 ace serves.

After three straight sub-.500 seasons, Ellsworth's football team is leading the Midwest Football Conference's West Division. The Panthers, ranked 14th in the country, are 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the league going into today's game at Grand Rapids, Mich.

Quarterback Tirrell Rennie has been the catalyst, rushing for 104 yards per game and throwing for nearly 190 a contest. Rennie, a freshman from Florida, has accounted for 17 touchdowns in five games.

Ellsworth has a key showdown with No. 12 Iowa Central in three weeks.

Reigning Iowa Conference women's soccer MVP Rachel Oswald has rewritten the Wartburg record books. The forward holds the school career mark for goals (48), points (122) and shots (261). This season, Oswald has tallied 11 goals in 13 matches for the Knights, who are 10-2-1 overall and 3-0 in the IIAC.

Waverly-Shell Rock alum Chelsea Frye has six goals for the Knights.

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com