Gallagher to Nationals, Statesmen Third at MCC
William Penn University Athletics
Bettendorf–Yanni Gallagher (Kanab, Utah, Psychology) extended his freshman campaign to the biggest meet of the year as he paced the William Penn men’s cross country team at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships Saturday.
The Statesmen placed third out of six teams with 79 points. St. Ambrose dethroned Mount Mercy, claiming the team title with a 33-35 edge. The Fighting Bees now advance to compete in the NAIA National Championships on November 17 in Vancouver, Wash.
SAU’s John Darmody won the individual crown in the 8K race with a time of 25:59, holding off teammate Kevin Randle by three seconds.
Gallagher had a great showing, placing third out of 57 competitors at 26:20. He will join the Fighting Bees as well as TJ Mosbach, Tyler Hartley, and Bryant Rader of Mount Mercy and Justin Welsh of Grand View at nationals. He is the 11th Statesmen runner, including the five-person regional title team from 2011, to qualify for nationals for since William Penn joined the NAIA in 2001.
“Yanni accomplished his goal of qualifying for nationals with a great race today,” Coach Cody Ingold said. “He has had a great year and ran very smart today to finish in the top three.”
Deane Wichelt (So., Durant, Iowa, Industrial Technology) just missed the top ten, finishing 13th at 27:41, while Blake Washington (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Public Accounting) was 18th at 28:17.
Quintin Marshall (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Computer Science) was 21st overall at 28:31 and Nick Thomas (So., Salmon, Idaho, Physical Education) was 25th at 28:52 to round out the team’s scoring.
Cameron Pittman (Jr., Carl Junction, Mo., Biology), who was 46th at 30:37, and Stepfon Williams (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Industrial Technology), who was 48th at 31:05, also competed for the navy and gold.
“Deane and Quintin both ran personal bests today and really stepped up for us,” Ingold said. “Our team worked extremely hard this year and had a great improvement from last year. We are really proud of what they accomplished this fall.”
