WPU Faces Toughest Competition of Campaign in Nebraska

Ashland, Neb.--The William Penn women's cross country team closed out its regular season against a stiff field as it competed in the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic Saturday.

The Statesmen placed 25th out of 27 squad with a score of 701 points, while No. 9 nationally-ranked College of Idaho won the team crown with 42 points.  No. 13 Saint Mary (Kan.) took runner-up status with 75 points; No. 15 Kansas Wesleyan and No. 19 Benedictine, from the Heart of America Athletic Conference, were also in the field.

Grace Steinmetz of Bellevue (Neb.) topped the 6K race in a time of 20:48.03.

Claire Rye (Fr., Plymouth, Iowa, Biology) was WPU's top harrier, finishing 122nd among the 279 runners with a time of 24:48.37.

Briana Admire (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Biology) and Mallory Ostroski (Fr., Le Grand, Iowa, Kinesiology) were then separated by less than five seconds.  Admire was 178th in 25:48.53, while Ostroski was 180th in 25:52.70.

Emmalee Wells-Stout (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) crossed the line shortly thereafter as her time of 26:08.22 was good for 187th.

Nathaly Peralta (Fr., Dallas, Texas, New Media) wrapped up the Statesmen lineup, ending up 240th in 27:56.94.

Audrey Etter (Fr., Remsen, Iowa, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management) guided the remaining navy and gold runners in 256th in a time of 29:05.47.

"The ladies have been battling some injuries over the past couple of weeks, but they fought hard and set the tone today," Graduate Assistant Coach Caleb Silver said.  "Each race has been a new experience for most this young group, and we knew this would be a tough one, but they rose to the challenge."

"Mallory Ostroski stepped up big for us as our No. 3 runner, cutting over three minutes off her lifetime best," Silver added.  "Nathaly Peralta kept her PR streak going, and has now improved by over seven minutes since the start of the season."

Next Up: After taking a week off, William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, November 8 to compete in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship.