Statesmen Start 2026 at Central Meet
Pella–The William Penn men’s cross country team competed for the first time in the new season Friday as it took on a small, but talented field at the Central Dutch Invitational.
With high temperatures stealing the headlines, the Statesmen finished third out of three teams with 78 points, while host Central earned the team title with 15 points.
William Wadsley of Central finished first in the 6K race in a time of 19:35.0.
Andrew Miller (Sr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) snuck under the 20-minute barrier as well, leading the navy and gold in eighth place (80 total runners) at 19:58.2.
Sullivan Wilkins (Fr., Colfax, Iowa, Sports Management) claimed the team’s runner-up spot in his collegiate debut, finishing 31st at 21:47.3, while Carson Springer (Sr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management) was 34th in a time of 21:49.9.
Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) and Wualfret Morales (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Physical Education) were also mixed in that tight pack. Huff was 37th (21:54.1) and Morales was 38th (21:55.3) to complete the team’s scoring.
Brayden Veiseth (Jr., New Sharon, Iowa, Industrial Technology) topped the rest of the WPU runners as he was 42nd in 22:23.5.
“The men ran smart and strong today,” Head Coach Caleb Silver said. “Andrew Miller got right up with the leaders, and held his ground, while Carson Springer battled in the top 20 for the majority of the race. Sullivan Wilkins got out strong as well, and then found a surge at the end to finish second for us.”
“Gavin Huff and Wualfret Morales ran smart races, and battled together at the end,” Silver added. “Brayden Veiseth was our 11th runner until the last 400 meters, so it was fun to see him shift gears at the end to end up as our sixth runner across the line.”
“We had a few newcomers step up as well, so that was exciting to see,” Silver said. “We had some great packs form throughout the race with a mix of our returners and our newcomers. We knew the times would not be there today because of the weather, but the toughness definitely was.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Grinnell next Saturday to compete in the Grinnell Les Duke Invitational at 10:15 a.m.
