CRETE, Neb. – Nearing the end of their competition season, the William Woods cross country teams traveled to Doane University on Saturday to compete in the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic. Both squads turned in standout performances from their top runners and combined for an impressive 14 personal bests.
"What an incredible meet. The men did an outstanding job pushing all the way through the course," said coach Mekayla Gibson. "On the men's side, we had seven personal bests! All their hard work is paying off."
Leading the men, freshman Sean Wigger set the tone with a personal record of 26:11.8, finishing 68th out of 341 runners. Following closely behind with PRs of their own were Kyle Hagemeyer, Justus Yates, Hunter Bickell, Oshawi Burgher, Gabe Soest, and Mason Voegeli. The Owls placed 19th as a team and look to carry this momentum into the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships, set to take place in two weeks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
On the women's side, senior standout Crystal Ruden led the way, finishing 12th out of 298 competitors with a new personal best time of 22:17.9. The strong showing continued as Kyah Weirich, Sarah Kirby, Anna Hart, Amy Shreck, Abbie Gibson, Devan Humphreys, and Kaylee Johnson all recorded PRs in the 6K.
"Wow, just wow! What an amazing day the women had. Across the board we had seven PRs on the women's side! We are ready to stir up the conference meet," added coach Gibson.
The Woods women's team placed 11th overall, finishing ahead of four of the seven other Heart of America programs competing. Both teams will return to action in two weeks at the Heart of America Conference Championships, hosted at the Seminole Valley Cross Country Course in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
