OTTUMWA - Southwestern freshman Michael Mayer ran a massive PR here Friday at the Indian Hills Invitational, as the Spartan men finished eighth in the 10-team field with 204 points.
Mayer ran well right from the start of the race, as he posted a new PR through the first 5K of the 8K race. The freshman from Clarinda entered Friday's meet with an 8K PR of 29:44.6, which he ran at the Greeno-Dirksen Invite in September. Mayer finished 23rd overall Friday, taking more than 1 minute, 20 seconds off his time, crossing the finish line in 28:21.6.
"I couldn't be more proud of how Michael ran on Friday," said Scott Vicker, Southwestern director of cross country/track & field. "Michael got out well and kept moving up throughout the race. He has been running great workouts all season, and now that he has a few 8K races under his belt, I think he is starting to understand how to race that distance. This result should give him lots of confidence as we prepare for the Region XI Championships later this month on a course he is familiar with, having raced it for the state meet in high school."
The Spartans were once again led by freshman Chase Oates, who finished 14th overall in 27:43.3. Ben Olson finished 61st in 32:47.5, Jonathon Hackett 64th in 35:15.4, and Leland Perkins 67th in 44:05.0 to round out the scoring for the Spartans.
"Chase didn't have his best stuff today, and he still ran a solid race. He made up a ton of ground in the final mile of the race, which shows how much determination he has," Vicker said. "Even though he wasn't feeling his sharpest, he still fought for every single place out on the course."
Southwestern returns to action Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Region XI Championships in Fort Dodge at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.
"Any time we line up against the other schools in Region XI, we know we're going to see some of the best competition in the country," Vicker said. "This will be a big meet for our guys. Michael will be chasing the national qualifying standard, so there will be a lot riding on the line at regionals."
