INDIANOLA - Chase Oates started the 2023 cross country season off with a bang Friday evening, leading the Southwestern Community College men to a third-place finish at the Bill Buxton Invitational.
The sophomore from Columbia Heights, Minnesota, finished third overall in the men's 6K with a time of 19:18.7, finishing behind a pair of Simpson College seniors. Oates' time was a 1 minute, 12 second improvement over his time on the same course last year.
"Chase ran such a smart race. He got out fast, but stayed under control, and then was able to move up in the pack throughout the race," said Scott Vicker, director of cross country/track & field. "He was absolutely flying in the last mile of the race, and moved up from seventh to third. If the race had been any longer than 6K, he would have caught second place. This was a perfect start to the season for Chase, and it showed off all the hard work he has put in over the summer and the start of the fall."
Oates came through the 2-mile mark at 10:33, and covered the final 1.75 miles of the race at 5-flat pace. His 5K split of 16:05 was only 6 seconds short of his PR from the previous indoor track season of 15:59.
Official 6K records have not been kept, but Vicker believes Oates' time to be the second-fastest in program history, behind Walter Bolingo's 19:13 in 2008. Bolingo went on to become an All-American later that cross country season.
Freshman Daemon Rodriguez also had a strong start to the season for the Spartans. Rodriguez finished 16th overall with his time of 20:31.3, just 1 second slower than Oates' time as a freshman on this course.
The Midlothian, Texas, native ran a brave race, staying right behind Oates through the first mile and then settling in to run consistent splits the remainder of the race. Rodriguez was just off his mile and 2-mile PRs en route, and ran just under his previous 5K PR en route.
"I have to give Daemon a lot of credit, as it's oftentimes hard to convince freshmen to go out fast like that," Vicker said. "But he had no hesitations about getting out there and mixing it up, and it helped pull him through to a great time. I couldn't have asked for a better start to Daemon's season. This proves that he's in the best shape of his life right now, and I'm excited to see where he goes from here."
Sophomore Michael Mayer ran an 8-second PR for 6K, finishing 40th in 22:49.4. Sophomores Jonathon Hackett and Kyle Sanders finished 50th and 51st to round out the scoring for the Spartans.
As a team, the Spartans scored 84 points to finish third behind Simpson (18) and DMACC (59). Graceland finished fourth with 91 points.
"Overall, I was very pleased with how this first race went," Vicker said. "Chase and Daemon should both take a lot of confidence from this race moving forward, and for Michael to get a PR was a great start for him, too. Hackett and Kyle both ran really well for their first 6K races."
The Spartans return to action Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Greeno-Dirksen Invite at Mahoney Park Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska. The meet is co-hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University and University of Nebraska. The meet features some of the top JUCO teams in the country, as well as Division I teams, such as Drake, Iowa State, and Wichita State. It will be the first 8K of the season for the Spartans.
