Spartans place fourth at Simpson

INDIANOLA — It was a hot August afternoon as the Spartans competed in their cross country opener, the Bill Buxton Invitational hosted by Simpson College.

The team came away with a fourth-place finish, scoring 104 points. Simpson took first with 33 and DMACC placed second with 63.

For three of the five Spartan runners, it was their first time competing in a cross country race.

Though that was the case for freshman Brandon Briley of Creston, he still pulled off an impressive 13th-place finish in a 20:27.1 6K time.

“I thought Brandon showed how much grit he has,” Coach Scott Vicker said. “He kept battling late in the race when I know it was feeling tough for him. That is one of his biggest strengths that I think will carry over from the track to the cross country course. Brandon did a great job of sticking to the race plan I gave him, which is tough to do in your first race. He beat some really good individuals and he ran about 3 seconds faster than Chase Oates did as a freshman on this course. So there’s lots to be excited about with Brandon.”

Over back half of the course, Briley passed at least seven runners in his move into the top-15.

Freshman Zach Roome of Sydney, Australia, finished 26th overall in 21:15.5.

“Zach stuck right with Brandon through the first 3K of the race, which was the plan, but he started to fall off in the second half of the race,” Vicker said. “Still, for his first time racing over 1 mile, I thought Zach ran well.”

A pack of Spartans finished 42nd, 43rd and 44th, led by Jacob Driskill of East Union.

Driskill ran a 22:22.2 followed by Cameron Swapsy of Middleton, Wisconsin and Dillon Starlin of Creston. Swapsy ran 22:34.0 and Starlin ran 22:34.4.

“Jacob and Cam did a good job of getting out with Brandon and Zach for the first mile. They both fell off through the middle of the race, but I thought Jacob did a great job of rebounding in the final mile,” Vicker said. “For both of those guys, we’ll need to improve the middle part of the race and keep them closer to the front two. Dillon started a bit faster than we planned, but I think it was good for him to experience that. He did a good job of continuing to push throughout the race.”

Overall, Vicker said he was happy with the team’s performance.

“We definitely learned some areas we need to work on before our next meet, but this was such a better team performance than what we’ve had at this meet the past few years that it’s hard to be upset about it,” Vicker said. “We knew we wouldn’t be at our best in this first meet, and that we would make a lot of progress throughout the season, so in that sense we’re right where we’re supposed to be. I feel like this is a good starting point for our season, and most importantly, was a great chance for our guys to get some race experience.”

The Spartans’ next race is Sept. 21 at the Greeno-Dirksen Invite, hosted by University of Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan University.

The race will be the team’s 8K opener.

TEAM RESULTS

1. Simpson College - 33

2. DMACC - 43

3. Simpson Alumni - 63

4. SWCC - 104

5. Graceland - 137

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

13. Brandon Briley - 20:27.1

26. Zach Roome - 21:15.5

42. Jacob Driskill - 22:22.2

43. Cameron Swapsy - 22:34.0

44. Dillon Starlin - 22:34.4