On Saturday, October 22, the Southwestern Spartan Cross Country team competed at the Mount Marty Invitational in Yankton, South Dakota. Racing against a deep field of NAIA schools from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, and the North STAR Athletic Conference, the men's team placed fifth out of 11 teams in the 8,000m competition. The men were paced by Nate Hoyt (Shenandoah, pictured) with his 19th place finish in a time of 26:55. Jacob Bolinger (Clearfield) ran to a time of 27:44 and a 34th place finish. Closely behind Bolinger in 37th place was Kevin Dietrich (Port Neches, TX), who set a personal record with his time of 27:49 Jalen Two Leggins (Hardin, MT) placed 48th with his time of 28:13, and Chance Webster (Panora) concluded the scoring for Southwestern with his 58th place finish in a personal record time of 28:43.
"Coming into today our goal was to be conservative for the first two miles before making a move over the last three miles," said Head Coach Nick Ekel. "They did just that, and we were rewarded with a fifth place team finish. I was especially impressed with the poise and competitiveness our freshmen exhibited today, as Kevin Dietrich, Chance Webster, Collin Maag, and Travis Purdy all set personal records on a true cross country course."
Racing 5,000m, the Spartans women placed 8th out of 9 full teams powered by Kimberly Zepeda's (Rockford,IL) 14th place finish in a time of 19:35. Freshman Alyssa Proffitt (Afton) placed 58th in a time of 21:18, Odette Muziranenge (West Des Moines) set a personal record with her 23:08 and placed 88th. Jenna Faust (Earlham) ran 23:37 to finish 93rd, while Jasmine Forward (Red Oak) set a personal record with her 24:05, which was good for 99th place.
"Today was about fixing some things as we head into the Region XI Championships and the National Championships," remarked Ekel. "I was very impressed with the performance of Odette and Jasmine, as they were able to come away with personal bests."
The Spartan women will travel to North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City this Saturday for the Region XI Championships. The race will begin at 11:00 a.m.
For updates on the cross country and track & field teams, follow @SWCC_Track_XC.