OSKALOOSA – The Iowa Wesleyan College cross country teams and their opponents all received a surprise Saturday morning, as snow covered the ground for the William Penn University Invitational at the Lacey Sports Complex.
Competing in cold temperatures and on a course that includes a 1” wet blanket of snow on the ground, the Tigers showed well at the meet which provided a preview for the Midwest Collegiate Conference championships next month. Eight of the nine MCC schools were on hand for the race, and St. Ambrose University won the men’s title while Mount Mercy College took the women’s championship.
The Tiger men finished seventh of seven teams fielding a full team of five runners. IWC’s Kennedy Kiprop (Fr.-Iten, Kenya) was among the leaders and placed third individually with a time of 26:56. He finished 46 seconds behind winner John Darmody of St. Ambrose and was 30 seconds behind Mike Miroux of Mount Mercy for second.
Following Kiprop were four runners posting their best times of the season in an eight-kilometer race. Shane Pasanen (Fr.-Petawawa, Ontario) placed 36th with a time of 30:44 and was followed by Kyle Neff (Fr.-New London, Iowa) with a time of 33:16. C.J. Earnest (Fr.-Wapello, Iowa) was 43rd with a time of 36:51, while Aaron Gatlin (Chicago, Ill.) was 44th at 38:28.
Before the men’s race the women took the course in the fresh snow, with two IWC runners competing. Kate Krzystofiak (Jr.-Mount Pleasant, Iowa) finished 50th with a time of 23:04 on a course which was scheduled to be 5K but was reduced to 4.6K. Her time was still more than four minutes better than her best time this year in a full five-kilometer race.
Also competing for Wesleyan was Trisha Phelps (Sr.-Winfield, Iowa), who finished 54th with a time of 26:49. Obsie Birru of Grand View was the women’s champion, while Mount Mercy finished with three runners in the top five.
The Tigers are off next week and will next compete in the St. Ambrose University Fighting Bee Invitational Oct. 24 in Bettendorf.
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
