December 21, 2024

Spartans punch ticket to NJCAA Nationals

By SOUTHWESTERN
Dillon Starlin of Creston saw huge improvements, setting a PR by more than three minutes. He ran 28:37.8 to place third for the Spartans.

Dillon Starlin of Creston saw huge improvements, setting a PR by more than three minutes. He ran 28:37.8 to place third for the Spartans.

CEDAR RAPIDS - Southwestern freshman Brandon Briley once again led the way for the Spartan cross country team at Saturday’s Seminole Valley Stampede, this time as the Spartans punched their ticket to the NJCAA National Championships.

The Spartans finished 17th in the 19-team field of mostly four-year colleges.

The men’s field included five nationally-ranked teams ranging from NCAA Division II to NJCAA Division III and two more teams receiving votes in the latest set of national rankings.

It was a banner day for the Spartans on the course, as the team of five freshmen shaved 2 minutes and 12 seconds off its team average time from just two weeks prior at the Greeno/Dirksen Invite.

In just the team’s second 8K race of the year Saturday, the Spartan men ran an average team time of 28:30, meeting the institutional qualifying standard of 28:30 or faster.

“The guys were definitely disappointed with how they ran at Greeno/Dirksen a couple of weeks ago, and based on how workouts had gone since then, I definitely expected them to run better this week,” coach Scott Vicker said. “One through five, I thought we ran great on Saturday. We still have room for improvement, but for these guys to bounce back the way they did from the disappointment of two weeks ago was very impressive.”

Briley set the tone for the Spartans, crossing the finish line in an 87-second PR of 26:37.8 for the 8K course. That time puts Briley sixth on SWCC’s all-time 8K performance list in just the third cross country race he’s ever run. Briley finished 63rd overall out of 212 finishers, and was the top NJCAA Division II runner in the field.

Brandon Briley of Creston led the Spartans Saturday at the Seminole Valley Stampede, running a PR time of 26:37.8, meeting the national-qualifying standard.

Brandon Briley of Creston led the Spartans Saturday at the Seminole Valley Stampede, running a PR time of 26:37.8, meeting the national-qualifying standard. (SOUTHWESTERN )

Zach Roome and Dillon Starlin cross the finish line second and third for the Spartans in 124th and 134th places, respectively. Roome posted an improvement from two weeks ago of 2:49 with his time of 28:21.3, while Starlin improved his time by 3:06, running 28:37.8.

Cameron Swapsy and Jacob Driskill made it a perfect five-for-five day for the Spartans in running new PRs. Swapsy finished 155th in 29:24.8, a 2:05 improvement from two weeks ago. Driskill rounded out the Spartan lineup by finishing 157th in 29:30.9, which was a 1:36 second improvement.

“Any time you can run a PR, it’s a good day. These guys didn’t just run PRs, they crushed their previous PRs,” Vicker said. “We knew the race two weeks ago ran a little slow with the heat and humidity that day, so we were expecting times to be quite a bit faster Saturday. But these guys still exceeded my expectations.”

Briley’s time of 26:37.8 also beat the institutional qualifying standard of 28:00 or faster for an individual runner.

“I think Saturday’s race gave these guys a lot of confidence, but I think it also made them even hungrier to keep improving,” Vicker said. “I think it was important for Dillon, Cam, and Jacob to get out faster this week. Now they’ve felt what that’s like, and they know they can finish the race getting out that quick. Having that experience will help them continue to push harder in the later stages of the race next week.”

Southwestern returns to action Friday at the Indian Hills Invitational in what will be a preview of the NJCAA Region 11 Championships being held on the same course just two weeks later.

The NJCAA National Championships are Saturday, Nov. 9, at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia.