OSKALOOSA – Iowa Wesleyan College fielded its largest contingents of runners this season but had a disappointing ending to its cross country season at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships Saturday morning at the Lacey Sports Complex.
The Tiger women fielded a full team for the first time this season and finished eighth of eight teams at the conference invite. The IWC men’s team fielded five runners but finished with just four as Kennedy Kiprop (Fr.-Iten, Kenya) had to withdraw from the men’s race due to injury.
Kiprop was one of the individual favorites on the men’s side and was a candidate for one of the five individual berths available to the NAIA National Championships, having been competitive with the top runners in the conference all season and defeating John Darmody of St. Ambrose at a meet hosted by the Bees two weeks earlier. Darmody finished as the individual champion on Saturday with a time of 26:52 over the 8-kilometer course.
Leading the Tigers individually was Kyle Neff (Fr.-New London, Iowa), who was 53rd with a time of 32:57. C.J. Earnest (Fr.-Wapello, Iowa) placed 64th with a time of 36:30, Aaron Gatlin (Fr.-Chicago, Ill.) was 67th finishing in 39:25, and Xavier Shields (Fr.-St. Albans, N.Y.) placed 68th with a time of 40:11.
The Wesleyan women’s team was led by Caitlyn Jones (So.-Cornell, Ill.), who placed 47th individually with a time of 24:20 on the 5K course in her first collegiate cross country race. Kate Krzystofiak (Jr.-Mount Pleasant, Iowa) and Trisha Phelps (Sr.-Winfield, Iowa) followed finishing 66th and 67th, respectively, with times of 29:28 and 29:57. Mariah Montgomery (Fr.-Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was 71st in 35:28 and Melanie Brambila (Fr.-Berwyn, Ill.) took 72nd with a time of 35:31.
For more information regarding the IWC cross country programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
Men's Results
Women's Results
