Trio Battle Against Nation’s Best at NAIA Championship
Vancouver, Wash.–Three members of the Statesmen men’s cross country team threw on their running spikes one more time this fall as they competed in the 68th Annual NAIA National Championship Friday.
The 8K race, which was contested at Fort Vancouver Historical Course, featured 36 teams and 331 total individuals.
The navy and gold trio all got stuck in the back of the pack at the beginning of the competition, but slowly and surely moved themselves up the standings. The front half of the two-kilometer loop was significantly more difficult with splits being roughly 10 seconds slower on that side than the back half.
Brandon Williams (Jr., Fountain, Colo., Civil Engineering) topped WPU in 151st place with a time of 26:36.1 His best split came in the second kilometer at 3:12.3, while the junior also closed strong with a final kilometer split of 3:12.6.
D’Artagnon Beaver (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Undecided) was next in 202nd place at 27:04.6. He matched Williams, having his best split in the second kilometer (3:16.0), while also finishing well with a final split of 3:16.6.
Max Finley (So., Richville, N.Y., Computer Science) wrapped up his second national championship appearance in 242nd place at 27:26.9. The sophomore’s top split of 3:15.7 came in the second kilometer of the race.
Milligan (Tenn.) won the team title with 93 points, holding off runner-up Saint Mary (Kan.) by five points. Jackson Wilson of Rocky Mountain (Mont.) was the individual national champion with a time of 24:31.8.
The Statesmen, who placed third in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship earlier this month, are expected to return a large majority of this year’s lineup as they look to make a push for the league title in 2024.
“Brandon, D’Artagnon, and Max ran incredibly well and looked strong doing so,” Head Coach Caleb Drake said. “All three were passing competitors throughout the entirety of the race and completed a historic season for our men’s team. I am proud of the work they put in since late May, and how well they represented our school and our team on the national stage. Although only three individuals were here, we moved forward as a program today.”
“I am so grateful for the support we felt today, from President Ottosson making the trip to see us compete, to the teams and athletics department back on campus viewing the livestream,” Drake added. “We ended the season on a high note, but we are not done yet. Good things are ahead for the William Penn cross country program.”
