DU men’s team wins college-division; women’s squad 19th in elite division of Chile Pepper Festival

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— The Drury men’s cross country team finished first in the Prairie Fire eight-kilometer run, while the Panthers women’s team, competing against mostly NCAA-I programs, came in 19^th in the five-kilometer race of the Chile Pepper Festival hosted by Arkansas on Friday in Fayetteville.
 
The DU men’s squad came in first in a race that featured 43 teams with 81 points, while second-place Rogers State posted 127. Oklahoma Baptist was third with 133 points and UT-Dallas came in fourth with 227.
 
The Panthers had two top-10 finishers as Colby Garner, a sophomore from Springfield-Kickapoo, led his team with a time of 25:49.2 and came in seventh among the field of 349 runners. Freshman Ethan Haynes, a product of Republic, was ninth, crossing the finish line 25:55.1. Will Kershaw came in 17^th (26:06.4), Cole Sutton placed 19^th (26:09.7), and Gabe Bauer finished 29^th (26:25.3). William Purifoy was just off the pace of Drury’s top five finishing with a time of 26:33.5 in 35^th place, while Collin Emmert was 83^rd with a time of 27:32.3.
 
“I was a little aggravated about us being put in the lower race, but I think it turned out working in our favor as it helped us execute a total pack mentality and seeing where other guys were on the course made this effective in seeing where we are in our training,” said Drury head coach Lee Wood. “I was really pleased as our one through five was within 30 seconds of each other and our top six were within 40 seconds.
 
“Coming home with a team trophy is going to be a big motivation, and it is just starting that winning trend.”  
 
In the women’s race, Bradley Weimer was 33^rd in a field of of 276 runners that featured 17 Division I programs, including the 13^th ranked Razorbacks. Weimer, a sophomore from Springfield-Central, completed the 5-K run in 17:31.5. Mia Harris came in 93^rd with a time of 18:25.7, and Jayme Sue Vermaas finished 102^nd crossing the finish line in 18:31.3. Zoe Van Dijk was 111^th (18:38.6), and Maddie Bennett posted a time of 19:24.2 to come in 164^th. Brylee Gogel was just off the pace for Drury’s top five completing the event in 19:24.3 to finish 166^th, while Jasmyn Douglas was 177^th (19:37.9).
 
“Our one-to-four split was really good,” said Wood regarding his women’s team. “Even after that, we had a couple of girls step up and improve their time by about a minute to a minute and a half. Overall it was a good night and I was really happy to finish ahead of a couple of Division I teams.”
 
While the Panthers were 19^th in the women’s race, they finished ahead of six Division I programs in the field of 32 teams. 
 
Drury’s teams are scheduled to compete again on Oct. 14 in the Hornet Harrier in Emporia, Kansas.
 
  
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