Pair of Packs Lead WPU to Fifth at IHCC Meet

Ottumwa–The Rye had one of the best performances in school history Friday as she led the William Penn women’s cross country team at the Indian Hills CC Invitational.

William Penn placed fifth out of 10 teams with points, while host Indian Hills CC tied Mount Mercy for first with 55 points.

Gavin Grunhovd of North Iowa Area CC was first out of 92 competitors on the 8K course with a time of 25:27.68.

WPU’s top six runners were in two tight groups and were separated by less than 30 seconds.

Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) paced the navy and gold in 22nd place at 28:32.47, while Cameron Shutwell (Jr., Fort Madison, Iowa, Exercise Science) was 23rd at 28:35.47 and Carson Springer (Sr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management) was 24th at 28:39.44.

A time of 28:51.75 helped Sutton Shively (Jr., Bloomfield, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) lead the next trio as he was 27th overall. Myles Goldman (Fr., Marshalltown, Iowa, General Accounting) wrapped up the Statesmen scoring in 28th at 28:52.67, while Lukas White (Fr., Rockford, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) led the remaining William Penn athletes in 29th at 29:00.76.

“The guys packed up well today and a few took a risky early knowing it was a good opportunity to,” Head Coach Caleb Silver said. “Carson and Gavin got out strong and maintained. Cameron kept climbing the whole race, and had the sense of urgency to know we needed him up with our leaders. Myles and Lukas also stepped up well. They all picked each other up and battled together today.”

Next Up: William Penn takes a week off before finishing its regular season on Saturday, October 24 by traveling to Ashland, Neb. to compete in the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic. The race will commence at 10 a.m.