Posted: Oct 31, 2023
The 2023 Region 11 Women's Cross Country All-Region and special awards were announced on Thursday.
The awards were determined at the Region 11 Championships last Friday in Creston, Iowa, with designations based on each runner's finish at the event. Special awards were voted on by the coaches following the race.
Division I recognizes the top 15 individuals on First, Second and Honorable Mention, with Division II highlighting the top 12. The All-Conference teams take into account Division I and II runners combined, with 21 runners spread out across the same three designations.
For Division I, first and foremost, Silvia Gradizzi of Iowa Western was named the 2023 Athlete of the Year. The freshman zipped to a first place finish with the only time under 19 minutes at the Region 11 Championships, ending the 5k at a time of 18:52.29. It was the only 5k she ran all season, with her best 6k time being 21:29.5. Gradizzi became the third Reiver to win the Region 11 Championships, and the fourth in as many years. She joined two-time champ Mercy Biwott ('21, '22) and Faith Linga ('20) as Region 11 individual champions.
Three of Gradizzi's teammates joined her on the First Team this season. As the Reivers took the top four spots in the race, Barbara Neiva, Ayianna Olivas and Angeline Estrada took second, third and fourth place at the event. Nevia ran a 19:02.8, Olivas a 19:28.4 and Estrada a 19:51.8.
The final member of the Division I First Team went to Brooke Miller -- Indian Hills' top finisher. The freshman ran a time of 20:38.3.
Marc Bierbaum was named the Division I Coach of the Year. The Iowa Western coach led the Reivers to their first ever Region 11 Championship -- and as mentioned, IWCC had four of the top five times overall in the race.
Division II was highlighted by Southeastern's Aisha Ramone. Ramone took home the Division II individual crown for the second season in a row, as well as the Athlete of the Year designation. Ramone helped lead Southeastern to back-to-back Region 11 titles after winning a tiebreaker versus DMACC this season.
She was active this season, running in six events, including the regional championships. Of those races, she finished first three times, second twice, and third once. Her top time this season was 18:45.3 at the Indian Hills Invitational, an event that saw a lot of personal-bests this season.
Carissa Mackey joined Ramone on the First Team. A fellow Blackhaw, Mackey took fourth place with a time of 20:41.63.
The other two members on the First Team were DMACC tandem Grace Collins and Kayden Spencer. The freshman duo took second and third with times of 20:20.2 and 20:20.3 -- ending the races almost simultaneously.
Lucas Keifer was voted DII Coach of the Year again this season after leading the Blackhawks to a second Region 11 Championship.
2023 ICCAC All-Conference (Division I & Division II Combined)
2023 First Team All-Conference
| Name | School | Year |
| Grace Collins | DMACC | Fr. |
| Kayden Spencer | DMACC | Fr. |
| Angeline Pondler | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Ayianna Olivas | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Barbara Neiva | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Silvia Gradizzi | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Aisha Ramone | Southeastern | So. |
2023 Second Team All-Conference
| Name | School | Year |
| Tori Yunggebauer | DMACC | Fr. |
| Amber Homan | Hawkeye | Fr. |
| Brooke Miller | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Lauren Pierson | Iowa Western | So. |
| Arianna Pedrin | Southeastern | Fr. |
| Brooklyn Moehle | Southeastern | So. |
| Carissa Mackey | Southeastern | So. |
2023 Honorable Mention All-Conference
| Name | School | Year |
| Jullian Prouty | DMACC | So. |
| Madison Beaune | DMACC | So. |
| Mkenzie Robinson | DMACC | So. |
| Amaree Hamilton | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Maruine Limo | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Juliana Droll | NIACC | Fr. |
| Cassidy Yaley | Southeastern | So. |
2023 ICCAC All-Region
Division I
2023 First Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Brooke Miller | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Angeline Pondler | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Ayianna Olivas | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Barbara Neiva | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Silvia Gradizzi | Iowa Western | Fr. |
2023 Second Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Amaree Hamilton | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Selket Reid-El | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Maruine Limo | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Jessica Heyen | Iowa Western | So. |
| Lauren Pierson | Iowa Western | So. |
2023 Honorable Mention All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Morgan Bodholdt | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Natalie Bogdanova Kirilova | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Raylene Williams | Iowa Central | So. |
| Cheyenne Sunderman | Iowa Western | So. |
| Daniella Deer | Iowa Western | So. |
Division I - Athlete of the Year - Silvia Gradizzi, Iowa Western
Division I - Coach of the Year - Marc Bierbaum, Iowa Western
Division II
2023 First Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Grace Collins | DMACC | Fr. |
| Kayden Spencer | DMACC | Fr. |
| Aisha Ramone | Southeastern | So. |
| Carissa Mackey | Southeastern | So. |
2023 Second Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Tori Yunggebauer | DMACC | Fr. |
| Amber Homan | Hawkeye | Fr. |
| Arianna Pedrin | Southeastern | Fr. |
| Brooklyn Moehle | Southeastern | So. |
2023 Honorable Mention All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Jullian Prouty | DMACC | So. |
| Mkenzie Robinson | DMACC | So. |
| Juliana Droll | NIACC | Fr. |
| Cassidy Yaley | Southeastern | So. |
Division II Athlete of the Year - Aisha Ramone, Southeastern
Division II Coach of the Year - Lucas Keifer, Southeaster