Mt. Pleasant’s McWilliams signs with Central College

MT. PLEASANT — Mt. Pleasant senior Nathan McWilliams made his college decision official on Wednesday, signing on the dotted line to run track and cross-country at Central College in Pella.

McWilliams signed his letter of intent surrounded by coaches, family and his peers in the Mt. Pleasant media center.

“It was a pretty easy decision,” said McWilliams. “The first time I visited, it just felt right. You can’t beat that.”

McWilliams will be just the latest in a long line of Panthers that have found their way down the highway to Pella. He says familiar faces helped him decide on Pella, as did the local food choices around town.

“Pella is a nice town,” McWilliams said. “And there’s the bakery, so you can’t beat good food when you’re running.”

McWilliams is coming off a cross-country season that saw the Panthers finish third in the Southeast Conference. He will join a Central squad that took fifth out of nine American Rivers Conference teams.

“He has been a great leader for us,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Mitch Anderson. “He’s really worked himself into a relevant student-athlete for us.”

Coach Anderson says McWilliams has come a long way in his running career at Mt. Pleasant.

“As a younger athlete, he definitely wasn’t at the level he’s at now,” Anderson said. “That’s a testament to the hard work he has put in.”

McWilliams says he plans on going in to premed at Central, with goals to be a heart or lung specialist in the future.

He and the Panther track and field team will be in action next month. Mt. Pleasant’s first scheduled indoor meet is on March 8.