September 25, 2024

Briley leads the way at Greeno/Dirksen

By Southwestern Community College
SWCC's Brandon Briley of Creston, left, and Zach Roome run together during the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational Saturday. Briley ran a 28:04, missing the national-qualifying time by four seconds.

SWCC's Brandon Briley of Creston, left, and Zach Roome run together during the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational Saturday. Briley ran a 28:04, missing the national-qualifying time by four seconds. (SWCC photos)

LINCOLN, Neb. - Southwestern freshman Brandon Briley led the way for the Spartan cross country team Saturday at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational, co-hosted by University of Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Running the 8K race distance for the first time, the Spartan harriers gained valuable experience. The Spartans will have two more chances at the 8K distance before championship season starts with the Region 11 Championships on Oct. 25.

Briley, running in his first season of cross country ever, looked like a veteran on the course, staying patient early and moving up during the second half of the race. Briley crossed the finish line in 28:04.9, just missing a national qualifying time of sub-28 minutes. Briley finished 110th out of 282 finishers in the Gold Division.

“I thought Brandon ran really well for his first 8K,” said SWCC coach Scott Vicker. “He was out a little fast through the first kilometer, but didn’t panic and settled in to his race pace. He ended up running fairly even 4K splits of 14-flat and 14:04, so that was really good. For the hot race conditions, I was very happy with his race. Now that he has an 8K under his belt, I can see him making a big jump in his next race.”

SWCC's Jacob Driskill of East Union finished second for the Spartans in 31:06.4.

SWCC's Jacob Driskill of East Union finished second for the Spartans in 31:06.4. (SWCC photos)

Jacob Driskill led a pack of Spartan runners across the line, as the remaining four Spartans finished within 37 seconds of each other. Driskill finished 223rd in 31:06.4, followed by Zach Roome in 226th at 31:10.45 and Cam Swapsy in 233rd at 31:29.4. Dillon Starlin rounded out the lineup for the Spartans in 238th with his time of 31:43.2.

“I know those four guys were disappointed with their race results, so that will serve as good motivation for them going forward,” Vicker said. “Zach got out well and executed his race plan through 3K, but he struggled to get home from there. The other three were out too slow through the first mile, so they never really gave themselves a chance to get into the race. Our inexperience definitely showed on Saturday. But with five freshmen, we knew there’d be some growing pains as we figured everything out. In debriefing with the guys after the race, they all learned a valuable lesson from Saturday. And as long as we’re learning something to apply to the next race, we’re still moving in the right direction. These guys are itching to get their shot at redemption.”

Cam Swapsy of Middleton, Wisconsin, left, and Dillon Starlin of Creston, keep pace together. Swapsy ran a 31:29.4 while Starlin ran 31:43.2.

Cam Swapsy of Middleton, Wisconsin, left, and Dillon Starlin of Creston, keep pace together. Swapsy ran a 31:29.4 while Starlin ran 31:43.2. (SWCC photos)

Southwestern returns to action Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Seminole Valley Stampede in Cedar Rapids, hosted by Mount Mercy. The Spartans will toe the line for the 8K race at 9:30 a.m.