Alexander Advances to Nationals in Season Debut
William Penn University Athletics
Cedar Rapids–Tarah Alexander (So., Cedar, Iowa, Undecided) figured she was running just one cross country meet this fall, but after a tremendous showing at Saturday’s Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships, she has earned herself another outing.
Alexander, who also competes in basketball and track, paced the Statesmen harriers by qualifying for the NAIA National Championships (Lawrence, Kan. on Saturday, November 23) in her campaign debut. The sophomore finished ninth out of 73 competitors on the 5K Jones Memorial Park course with a time of 20:50.
The Statesmen women finished sixth out of six teams with a score of 141 points, while St. Ambrose defended its league title with 23 points. Rebecca Wilder defeated teammate Dominique Guinnane by milliseconds at 20:06. SAU had four of the top five finishers in the race.
Rosemary Bailey (Sr., Fayetteville, Ark., Communications) also placed in the top 20, taking 20th in a time of 21:13.
Deja Lewis (Fr., Spring, Texas, Undecided) was next in 39th at 22:21, while Sade Myers (Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii, Elementary Education) crossed the line in 54th place at 23:00.
Janet Kuskie (So., Grant, Neb., Public Accounting) wrapped up the team scoring in 72nd (30:07). Corrie Bailey (Sr., Fayetteville, Ark., Communication), who was 73rd (32:20), also competed for WPU on Saturday.
On the men’s side, William Penn placed fifth out of six teams with 116 points. Mount Mercy took the team crown with 43 points, just two points ahead of defending champion St. Ambrose. TJ Mosbach topped the 56-person field with an 8K time of 27:39.
Deane Wichelt (Jr., Durant, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) guided the Statesmen in ninth place at 29:14. While Wichelt had the same placing as Alexander, he unfortunately was the sixth-best non-Mount Mercy runner and missed qualifying for nationals by only one spot (top five advanced).
Saromo Mugisha (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Business Management) was next in 13th place at 29:27.
Nick Thomas (Jr., Salmon, Idaho, Physical Education) just missed the top 20, taking 22nd at 30:22, while Quintin Marshall (Sr., St. Louis, Mo., Computer Science) was 36th with a time of 31:19.
Dustin Ewalt (Fr., Clinton, Iowa, History/Government) and Jeremy Mooney (Fr., Clinton, Iowa, Physical Education) went back-to-back, finishing 41st and 42nd, respectively. Ewalt crossed the line in a time of 31:36, while Mooney was two seconds behind him at 31:38.
Carlos Lizama (Fr., Victorville, Calif., Undecided), in 52nd (33:31), and Raphael Crisosto (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Education), in 53rd (33:59), also competed for the navy and gold.
