Grinnell, IA. -- The Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams made the 5-hour trek to Grinnell, Iowa this weekend to compete with 18 other teams in the 57
th Annual Les Duke Cross Country Invite. Fortified by Friday's EMC meeting (Don't Stop Believing…Hold On To That Healing!), Dr. Westerfhof's moving speech at Convocation, and a group lesson reading early Saturday morning at the hotel, the teams overcame several obstacles to joyously demonstrate perseverance with purpose on an unexpectedly clear and temperate race day.
The women's team placed 10
th overall. Freshman Emme Schaefer, who turned heads in last weekend's home opener in Elsah with a top 5 finish, delivered again at Grinnell's much larger 6k stage, posting a time of 25:22- good for 23
rd place among 140 women. Senior Allegra Pierce was only 90 seconds behind her, followed by sophomore Afton Leslie, freshman Katie Wood, freshman Cassidy Proctor, and Emily Staunton.
The men's team edged out Waldorf University by one point to take 13
th. Junior
Abe Ott ran a very smart race, tucking in the back 3
rd of the 181-man pack at the start, working his way up to 74
th at the 2k split, and ultimately finishing 34
th overall in the 8k contest, with a time of 28:04. Sophomore
Sammy Keyes achieved a lifetime personal best 5k time of 21:01. Reminiscent of Brie Burns ('18), Sammy smiled through the entire race. He said he was reflecting on the "Mark the perfect man" scripture, and extended his thought to the people in front of him and behind him. Nobody passed him after the 5k mark, and he went on to finish his first 8k XC race in 33:45.
Both the men's and women's cross country teams have next weekend off from competing, but return on Friday, September 21st when they compete at Augustana College.
