Statesmen Close Regular Season at Seminole Valley Stampede

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Cedar Rapids–The William Penn cross country teams got back on the course Saturday as they competed at the Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy.

The women were 27th out of 28 teams with 768 points, while host Dordt won the title with 96 points. Ellie Willging of Saint Xavier (Ill.) was first out 279 participants in the 5K race in a time of 17:33.3.

The WPU men finished 28th out of 29 teams with 879 points; St. Francis (Ill.) finished first with 39 points. Saint Mary (Kan.) harrier Tony Weber was the individual winner (285 runners) with an 8K time of 25:20.2.

The course is the site of next month’s NAIA National Championships and Guadalupe Gonzalez (Sr., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science), who is William Penn’s best shot at having a qualifier, just missed the top 100. The senior finished 112th in a time of 20:54.6.

Michelle Reyes (Fr., Brownsville, Texas, Biology) was next, in 220th at 23:27.2, while Heaven Buckner (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Business Management), in her season debut, placed 253rd in 25:05.1. Bree’Anna Lee (So., Broken Arrow, Okla., Biology), in 260th at 25:33.3, and Lauren Lehman (Jr., Norwalk, Iowa, Undecided), in 278th in 28:44.9, also ran for the women’s squad.

Cameron Shade (So., Riverdale, Ga., Sociology) guided the men, ending up 194th in 30:51.3, while Julian Davis (Fr., Palmer, Alaska, Mechanical Engineering), in 246th at 33:11.4, and David Williams (So., Victor, Iowa, Secondary Education), in 248th at 33:20.9, finished just seconds apart of each other.

Shane Crozier (Fr., South Holland, Ill., Sports Management) (282nd, 37:56.8) and Percy Burton (Fr., Baltimore, Md., Sports Management) (284th, 41:57.8) rounded the men’s lineup.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Baldwin City, Kan. on November 4 to compete in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships.