2024 Men’s Cross Country Preview

2023 Heart finish: 3rd out of 13
Letterwinners returning/lost: 5/2

Notable returners:
Brandon Williams, Sr., Fountain, Colo.
(National qualifier, season-best 8K 25:10.9)
D'Artagnon Beaver, Sr., Rockford, Ill.
(National qualifier, season-best 8K 25:32.2)
Andrew Miller, So., Le Claire, Iowa
(Letterwinner, season-best 8K 26:52.1)

Notable losses:
Max Finley
(National qualifier
Jonah Heckenberg
(Letterwinner)

Notable newcomers:
Sutton Shively, Fr., Bloomfield, Iowa
Jordan Davis, Loomis, Calif.

Coming off one of the best campaigns in recent history, the William Penn men's cross country team is looking to remain a title contender in 2024.

Third-year Head Coach Caleb Drake led the squad to a third-place finish at the 2023 Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship and returns a handful of letterwinners from that crew.

Topping the roster will be returning NAIA national qualifiers Brandon Williams (Sr., Fountain, Colo., Engineering Technology) and D'Artagnon Beaver (Sr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services).

Williams placed third in the league a year ago with a season-best 8K time of 25:10.9, while Beaver was seventh at 25:34.9.  Both earned first-team all-Heart honors.

Andrew Miller (So., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) is looking to improve on a strong freshman campaign.  He had a top 8K time of 26:52.1.

Ethan Varvelo (Jr., Channelview, Texas, Engineering Technology), with a top 2023 mark of 27:40.8, and Carson Springer (Fr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management) (top time of 28:53) are also back in the navy and gold.

Sutton Shively (Fr., Bloomfield, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) and Jordan Davis (Sr., Loomis, Calif., Political Science) are new to the squad and will add depth to the Statesmen.

Schedule/Conference

William Penn begins the campaign Saturday in Pella at the Central Invitational.  It is the first of four regular-season meets prior to the Heart Championship on November 9 in Cedar Rapids.