Three Qualify as Statesmen Take Third at League Championship
History was made Saturday as the William Penn men’s cross country team qualified three individuals for nationals at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship.
WPU placed third out of 13 teams with 102 points, while Benedictine won the team crown with 31 points and has qualified for the NAIA National Championship.
Joining the Ravens will be the trio of Brandon Williams (Jr., Fountain, Colo., Civil Engineering), D’Artagnon Beaver (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Undecided), and Max Finley (So., Richville, N.Y., Computer Science), all of whom qualified as individuals and are first-team all-Heart honorees for finishing in the top 10.
David Mannella of Benedictine won the 124-runner race with an 8K time of 24:57.6, while Williams was third with a personal-best time 25:10.9. It is the third-fastest time in school history. The junior is now a two-time all-Heart recipient, after earning honorable-mention laurels last fall.
Beaver was next for WPU, taking seventh at 25:34.9 for his first league award, while Finley was 10th overall with a personal best of 25:43.5. Finley is now a two-time first-team all-Heart harrier.
The trio will now travel to Vancouver, Wash. on Friday, November 17 for the NAIA National Championship. Outside of qualifying as a team in 2001, Saturday’s performance marks the first time in program history that multiple Statesmen have punched their ticket for nationals.
Despite having three runners in the top 10, William Penn could not keep up with BC for the team title, nor Park (90 points) in a tight race for second.
Jonah Heckenberg (Sr., Stockport, Iowa, Business Management) finished 43rd at 27:11.4, while Andrew Miller (Fr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) wrapped up the team scoring in 47th with a time of 27:28.3
Ethan Varvelo (Jr., Channelview, Texas, Engineering Technology) guided the remaining WPU runners as he was 68th at 28:38.5.
“You always want everyone to have their best day on the same day at the conference meet and unfortunately we did not do that today,” Head Coach Caleb Drake said. “However, this one race does not define our season; we had a fantastic year. We moved up two spots from last season’s league meet and we are sending three individuals to nationals. I am very proud of our athletes and the work and drive they have had all year. I know good things are ahead for this team.”
