WPU Finishes in Middle of Pack at Wartburg

Waverly, Iowa–The William Penn men’s cross country team got back to work Saturday as it competed at the Wartburg Dan Huston Invitational.

The Statesmen, racing for the first time in three weeks, placed ninth out of 18 teams with 274 points, while NCAA Division I Drake won the title with 52 points.

Anas Manboub of Drake was first out of 261 racers on the 8K course with a time of 24:35.6.

Andrew Miller (Sr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) headed WPU’s group in 33rd in 26:10.9.

Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering), in 88th at 27:29.6, and Carson Springer (Sr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management), in 93rd at 27:32.1, also finished in the top 100.

Sutton Shively (Jr., Bloomfield, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) hit the line under 28 minutes as well at 27:46.2 (104th), while Lukas White (Fr., Rockford, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) rounded out WPU’s scoring members in 135th (28:23.9).

Sullivan Wilkins (Fr., Colfax, Iowa, Sports Management) led the rest of the Statesmen in 141st at 28:34.0.

“The guys were very patient today with such a large field of runners, but we know we have to get out a little quicker,” Head Coach Caleb Silver said. “They built well throughout the race and still came away with a solid team performance.”

“Gavin Huff and Sutton Shiveley are finding their way back to where they belong, while Lukas White and Sullivan Wilkins put themselves in the mix,” Silver added. “The men have plenty of fight left and will use this next race as an opportunity to pack up and work together in the trenches.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Ottumwa next Friday to compete in the Indian Hills CC Invitational at 4:45 p.m.