WPU Battles at League Preview Site
William Penn University Athletics
Fayette, Mo.–The Statesmen cross country teams took a look at the league meet course as it competed at the Gary Stoner Invitational hosted by Central Methodist Saturday.
The William Penn men finished 10th out of 10 teams with 252 points, while Baker won the team crown with 41 points. The Statesmen did not post a team score; NCAA Division II Central Missouri was first with 37 points.
The course is the site of next month’s Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships and seven full men’s teams and four full women’s crews took advantage of surveying the layout.
Greg Flores of Baker paced the 88-person field in the men’s 8K race at 25:44.76, while Risper Mengich (Central Missouri) led the women’s 5K competition (69 runners) in a time of 18:51.93.
Vernon Trozzi (Fr., Hesperia, Calif., Exercise Science) recorded a top-20 finish to pace the men, finishing 18th in a time of 27:09.71.
There unfortunately was a large gap between William Penn’s top runner and the rest of its lineup. William De Jesus (Fr., Homestead, Fla., Biology) was second for the navy and gold in 63rd at 30:39.05, while Terry Jackson (Sr., Houston, Alaska, Biology) was 65th at 30:59.70.
Jack Miller (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) (81st, 33:48.37) and Gabriel Webster (So., Worland, Wyo., Psychology and Sociology) (85th, 36:13.01) rounded out the varsity squad.
Michaela Kmiec (Fr., Centerville, Texas, Exercise Science) guided WPU in the women’s race as she was 41st in a time of 22:37.56.
Ashlee Johnson (Fr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Sociology) was next in 54th at 23:29.98, and Madison Udy (So., American Falls, Idaho, Exercise Science) was 63rd at 24:58.11.
Next Up: William Penn takes a week off and then returns to action on Saturday, October 26, traveling to Cedar Rapids to compete in the NAIA Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy.
