Statesmen Conclude Season at Heart Championships
Atchison, Kan.–The William Penn cross country teams were in action for the final time in 2020 as they competed in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships Saturday.
The men’s team put on a strong showing, finishing seventh out of 14 teams at the meet. Their total score of 187 was tied with Mount Mercy, but the Statesmen held a five-second advantage in total time that gave them the edge. The women’s team, meanwhile, finished ninth out of 14 with 245 points.
The men’s seventh-place finish represents a dramatic improvement from the 2019 season in which they finished 11th, while the women’s team also saw improvement from 2019 after taking 10th place a year ago.
The top performer for the Statesmen in the men’s competition was Ruben Perez-Rodriguez (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) as he placed 33rd with a time of 29:28.76. Finishing close behind him was Axel Arzate-Vazquez (So., Wray, Colo., Sports Management), who took 36th place with a time of 29:34.68.
Rounding out the top five for the men’s team was Kenneth Bolton (Jr., South Riding, Va., Business Management) (30:13.69), William De Jesus (So., Homestead, Fla., Biology) (30:16.00), and Jonah Heckenberg (Fr., Stockport, Iowa, Business Management) (30:16.18), who finished 47th, 48th, and 49th, respectively.
Leading the way in the women’s race was Zena Cohuo (Jr., Carrollton, Texas, Exercise Science), who finished 31st with a time of 21:22.75. Michaela Kmiec (So., Centerville, Texas, Exercise Science) was the team’s second finisher in 58th with a time of 22:37.87, while Ashlee Johnson (Sr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Human Services and Sociology) trailed close behind in 61st with a time of 22:42.51.
Capping off the top five for the women’s team was Delana Jordan (So., Addison, Texas, Business Management) (22:43.86), who finished 63rd and Vanessa Blanco (Sr., Estherville, Iowa, Business Management) (23:53.85), who finished 79th.
Unfortunately, none of the Statesmen runners qualified for nationals, so Saturday served as the season finale.
“Both teams outperformed their pre-conference ranking, and ran very well as scoring groups,” said Head Coach Sean Gosewich. “I was happy with our strategies, and the athletes should be really proud of their year-to-year improvements.”
