Ava Claussen-Tubbs is closing out her collegiate career the way she started it — as a champion. The Cornell College senior and Anamosa native added three more Midwest Conference titles to her resume at the league outdoor championships hosted on her home track in Mount Vernon, bringing her career total to an incredible 14 conference crowns.
Claussen-Tubbs kicked off her three-peat of titles on May 8 with a commanding win in the 1,500 meters, crossing the line in 4:39.56 to beat Ripon senior Jenny Cortes by nearly two seconds. Grinnell senior Cindy Wang, a former Iowa City West standout, also impressed with an eighth-place finish in a personal-best 4:56.41, helping the Pioneers claim the team title with 178 points.
But Claussen-Tubbs wasn't done. The Cornell senior made it a clean sweep of outdoor 800-meter titles in her career, taking the win in 2:14.41 and winning the faster Section 2 by nearly four seconds. Half of her MWC titles have now come in the 800 — a testament to her dominance in the event.
She wasn't just an individual star, either. Claussen-Tubbs ran the second leg of the Rams' winning 4x400 relay, which clocked 4:05.34 to win by 1.54 seconds. Cornell finished third in the team standings with 119 points.
Her sophomore teammate Carley Seeley, a Fairfield High product, also made strides. After finishing eighth in the 3,000 steeplechase last year, she moved up to third place with a new personal best of 11:42.48 — a race won in 11:18.92.
Meanwhile, at the NSIC championships in Duluth, Minnesota, Glenwood grad Bryant Keller doubled his career conference title count to four in a standout weekend. The Augustana University sophomore captured both the 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000 titles, earning a tie for NSIC High Point Earner at the outdoor meet held May 7-9.
Keller had already been a double conference champion indoors in February, winning the 5,000 and 3,000 at MSU-Mankato. After a 10th-place finish in the Men's Open 5,000 at the Drake Relays on April 23, he bounced back in style, proving why he's one of the top distance runners in the conference.
Whether it's on the track or in the steeplechase, these Iowa-based athletes are showing that hard work and consistency pay off — and they're just getting started.