WPU Finishes Fifth at League Championship
Baldwin City, Kan.–Solid times across the board led the Statesmen men’s cross country team to a spot in the top five as William Penn closed out its 2026 campaign at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Saturday.
William Penn placed fifth out of 14 teams with 175 points, while Park claimed the league crown with 21 points.
Isaac Rivera of Park was the top runner out of 163 competitors on the 8K course with a time of 24:58.88.
The five Statesmen scorers were separated by just over 1:10.
The Statesmen were paced by a 28th-place finish by Carson Springer (Sr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management) in a time of 26:55.19.
Andrew Miller (Sr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) was just a few spots behind his teammate in 34th at 27:06.52, while Cameron Shutwell (Jr., Fort Madison, Iowa, Exercise Science) was 50th overall at 27:41.09.
“Carson and Andrew got right up in position to qualify, and held their ground for the first half of the race,” Head Coach Caleb Silver said. “They fought well in their last race in the checkered gold. Cameron had another big day as well.”
Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering), in 58th at 28:03.39, and Sutton Shively (Jr., Bloomfield, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering), in 61st at 28:05.22, wrapped up WPU’s scoring crew.
“Gavin rolled his ankle two days ago, so we did not expect him to do what he did today,” Silver said. “He ran a gritty race.”
Lukas White (Fr., Rockford, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) headlined the rest of the navy and gold runners as he was 64th (28:11.70).
“The guys stepped up to the challenge today, knowing that two of our top three runners were battling an injury this week, and still finished in the top five as a team,” Silver said. “Overall, our depth showed that we have a bright future. I am proud of our three seniors for leaving everything out on the course, no matter what the outcome was today.”
