IW men’s XC shatters school record

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Wesleyan cross-country headed north on Saturday to compete in Mount Mercy University’s Seminole Valley Stampede.

The 25-team invitational was kicked off with the ladies and a 5000-meter race.

Faith Younce paced the Tigers with a season-best time of 21:36. Younce topped her previous time by 21 seconds.

Following Younce was Allison Morris who also ran a season’s best 22:15. Lilly Garnsey followed with a time of 24:36. Lidia Pamos clocked a season-best of 27:23. Rounding out the top five was Teya Hawkins with a season-best of 30:56.

The Tiger women finished 16th with 408 points. Mount Mercy’s Deanna Newhouse was the individual champion with a time of 18:19. Missouri Baptist University won the meet by one point, on 66 points.

The final race of the day was an 8,000-meter race by the men.

The Tigers were led by Logan Lucas who ran a lifetime best of 27:35. For Lucas, it’s his lifetime best by 22 seconds, and a season best by over 90 seconds.

Daron Jackson was the next Tiger to cross the line with a time of 28:50, which was a lifetime best by over 60 seconds. Kenny Tucker was 3rd for the Tigers in a lifetime best of 30:04, beating his previous lifetime best by over 50 seconds, and a season best by over two minutes.

Jabez Rivers clocked a time of 30:52, another lifetime best by over two and a half minutes. Rounding out the Tigers scoring top five was Gannon McNamee with a time of 33:23, a lifetime best by two seconds.

The Tigers finished 19th out of 25 teams with 467 points.

Iowa Wesleyan broke two school records in the process. Fastest total team time in school history with a 2:30:47 total team time, shattering the old record of 2:37:27. They also broke the season record for team average with a 30:10 average, smashing the old average of 31:29.

The meet individual champion was Donovan Denslow of Missouri Baptist University with a time of 24:43. Host Mount Mercy, won the men's team title with a score of 74 points.

Iowa Wesleyan cross-country will be back in action on Oct. 14 at the Indian Hills Invitational in Ottumwa, Iowa. The women will race at 4 p.m. and the men at 4:45 p.m.