2024 All Region | Women's Cross Country
October 28, 2024
The 2024 Women's Cross Country All-Conference, All-Region and Special Awards were determined last Friday at the Region 11 Championships in Ottumwa. The top 21 performers across Division I and Division II earned All-Conference honors, with the top 15 in Division I and top 12 in Division II taking home All-Region recognition.
Leading the way for Division I was the Region 11 Champion, Yididiya Bifa of Iowa Central. The freshman won the 2024 Region 11 race with a 5k time of 18:13.0 and was voted as the Division I Athlete of the Year. Bifa ran two other 5k races this fall, with her best time coming at the Chile Pepper XC Festival and a time of 17:09.1.
Leading the way for Division I was the Region 11 Champion, Yididiya Bifa of Iowa Central. The freshman won the 2024 Region 11 race with a 5k time of 18:13.0 and was voted as the Division I Athlete of the Year. Bifa ran two other 5k races this fall, with her best time coming at the Chile Pepper XC Festival and a time of 17:09.1.
Iowa Central won back the Region 11 Championship from Iowa Western, the 2023 Champions -- with help from fellow First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region performers Abbi Hutchinson, Imane Jourji and Mau Lambotte. The Tritons took four of the five spots on First Team All-Region.
Barbara Neiva of Iowa Western was the lone Reiver on First Team All-Region. She was this year's runner up, finishing just five seconds behind Bifa. It was her second straight season of earning First Team honors.
Tiffani Koonce was Indian Hills top finisher and her sixth place finish was good for First Team All-Conference. Ayianna Olivas of Iowa Western took the final spot on the seven member First Team All-Conference list, made up of the top Division I and II runners.
In Division II, the 2024 Athlete of the Year award went to DMACC's Kayden Spencer. Week in and week out, Spencer put up top times among the ICCAC Division II runners. She won the Region 11 Championship with a time of 19:21.1, which was her best 5k time of the season. Her career best is a 19:15.9 which came at the 2023 NJCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
DMACC had five All-Region finishers this year, including two others on the First Team. Grace Collins and Jaycie Vohs helped the Bears to 1-2-3 on the Division II leaderboard year and power them to their first-ever Region 11 Championship.
Paeytn Wiegand of Southeastern earned the final spot on the First Team All-Region for Division II with a four place finish and a 16th place finish overall put her on Honorable Mention All-Conference.
Dee Brown of Iowa Central won the Division I Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year award for the sixth time since 2017 when the honor began. The Tritons won the Region 11 crown for the 20th time in the last 21 seasons.
The Division II Coach of the Year went to Michael Melchert. DMACC won their first-ever Region 11 Championship this season --- Melchert's fifth year as the team's head coach.
2024 ICCAC All-Conference (Division I & Division II Combined)
2024 First Team All-Conference
| Name | School | Year |
| Tiffani Koonce | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Abbi Hutchinson | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Imane Jourji | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Maud Lambotte | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Yididiya Bifa | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Ayianna Olivas | Iowa Western | So. |
| Barbara Neiva | Iowa Western | So. |
2024 Second Team All-Conference
| Name | School | Year |
| Grace Collins | DMACC | So. |
| Jaycie Vohs | DMACC | Fr. |
| Kayden Spencer | DMACC | So. |
| Juliette Gavois | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Marie Garret | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Alyssa Kulesa | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Angeline Estrada | Iowa Western | So. |
2024 Honorable Mention All-Conference
| Name | School | Year |
| Abby Harding | DMACC | So. |
| Tori Yunggebauer | DMACC | So. |
| Jordyn Beck | Indian Hills | So. |
| Natalie Bogdanova Kirilova | Iowa Central | So. |
| Juliana Droll | NIACC | So. |
| Olivia Spurling | NIACC | Fr. |
| Paetyn Wiegand | Southeastern | Fr. |
2024 ICCAC All-Region
Division I
2024 First Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Abbi Hutchinson | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Imane Jourji | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Maud Lambotte | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Yididiya Bifa | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Barbara Neiva | Iowa Western | So. |
2024 Second Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Tiffani Koonce | Indian Hills | Fr. |
| Marie Garret | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Alyssa Kulesa | Iowa Western | Fr. |
| Angeline Estrada | Iowa Western | So. |
| Ayianna Olivas | Iowa Western | So. |
2024 Honorable Mention All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Jordyn Beck | Indian Hills | So. |
| Raynisha Narcisse | Indian Hills | So. |
| Juliette Gavois | Iowa Central | Fr. |
| Natalie Bogdanova Kirilova | Iowa Central | So. |
| Jolie Brienholt | Iowa Western | Fr. |
Division I - Athlete of the Year - Yididiya Bifa, Iowa Central
Division I - Coach of the Year - Dee Brown, Iowa Central
Division II
2024 First Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Grace Collins | DMACC | So. |
| Jaycie Vohs | DMACC | Fr. |
| Kayden Spencer | DMACC | So. |
| Paetyn Wiegand | Southeastern | Fr. |
2024 Second Team All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Abby Harding | DMACC | So. |
| Tori Yunggebauer | DMACC | So. |
| Juliana Droll | NIACC | So. |
| Olivia Spurling | NIACC | Fr. |
2024 Honorable Mention All-Region
| Name | School | Year |
| Roselle Wardell | Hawkeye | Fr. |
| Bridget Canton | NIACC | Fr. |
| Arianna Pedrin | Southeastern | So. |
| Chloe Ferneau | Southeastern | Fr. |
Division II Athlete of the Year - Kayden Spencer, DMACC
Division II Coach of the Year - Michael Melchert, DMACC