2025 All-Region | Women's Cross Country

The 2025 ICCAC Women's Cross Country All-Conference and All-Region awards were announced Friday at the Region 11 Championships, held at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. The top 21 performers across both divisions earned All-Conference recognition, with the top 15 in Division I and top 12 in Division II also earning All-Region honors.

In Division I, Iowa Western's Juliana Sakat claimed the Region 11 individual championship and led the Reivers back to the top of the conference. The freshman standout dominated the field with a time of 17:28.2, nearly a full minute faster than the runner-up. Sakat, who broke the Iowa Western 5K record earlier this fall with a 16:40 — surpassing the mark held by NJCAA national champion and recently inducted NJCAA Hall of Famer Faith Linga — was also named the Division I Athlete of the Year.

Sakat's performance, along with strong showings from Hafssa Boutrich and Elizabeth Ewusie, both First-Team All-Region honorees, powered Iowa Western to its third ICCAC Region 11 Championship in program history, ending Iowa Central's reign atop the conference.

Indian Hills finished second overall, led by Cindy Rose, who crossed the line in 19:03.3 to place sixth. Despite not placing a runner on the first team, the Warriors used depth and consistency to edge out Iowa Central by just two points.

For Iowa Central, Abbigail Hutchinson and Hafsa Oukadou both finished inside the top five, securing First-Team All-Region honors, but their efforts weren't quite enough to hold off Indian Hills in the team standings.

In Division II, DMACC's Ava Manning captured the individual title in thrilling fashion, posting a time of 19:16.7 to edge the second-place finisher by just over two seconds. Manning, who broke DMACC's 5K school record earlier this season with an 18:46, capped off a dominant season in which she earned four ICCAC Athlete of the Week awards.

DMACC successfully defended its Region 11 Division II crown with an overwhelming team performance, placing five runners in the top six and finishing with only 19 points — just four more than the minimum possible. Manning was joined by teammates Jaycie Vohs and Mariah Falkena, both First-Team All-Region recipients, in leading the Bears to victory.

Southeastern's Paetyn Wiegand finished second overall with a time of 19:18.8 and joined Manning on the First-Team All-Region list. Wiegand also earned three ICCAC Athlete of the Week awards during the regular season.

In the coaching honors, Iowa Western's Marc Bierbaum was named Division I Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after guiding the Reivers to their second regional title in three seasons. DMACC's Michael Melchert received Division II Coach of the Year for leading the Bears to back-to-back Region 11 Championships — the only two in program history.