William Penn Harriers Run New Longer Course at Briar Cliff Invite

North Sioux City, S.D.--The Statesmen women's cross country team encountered its first action on a new longer distance as it competed in the Briar Cliff Invitational Saturday.

WPU placed 16th out of 17 teams with 488 points, while Dordt won the team title with 58 points.  Knot Juac of NCAA Division II Sioux Falls headlined the 224-person field with a time of 20:54.50.

It was the first time since the NAIA announced it was moving to a 6K race for nationals that William Penn was running the longer distance.

Briana Admire (Fr., Galesburg, Ill., Biology) was the first Statesmen to cross the line, doing so in a time of 24:17.36 to finish 83rd.

Michaela Kmiec (Sr., Centerville, Texas, Exercise Science) was next in 147th place in a time of 25:23.45, while Charlotte Hele (Apple Valley, Calif., Undecided) finished 155th in 25:40.3.

Morgan Taylor (So., Galesburg, Ill., Nursing) ended up 222nd in 31:24.55, while Ameline Garza (So., Edinburg, Texas, Sociology) was 223rd in 32:18.25.

"For it being our first 6K of the year, I thought our women had some good performances," Head Coach Caleb Drake said.  "Briana moved up through the race, while Michaela and Charlotte also did well to maintain throughout their races.  We wanted to learn as much as we could as we head into the final month of the season, and I think we accomplished that.  We have good things we can take from this race and grow from as a team."

Next Up: William Penn takes a week off before traveling to Ashland, Neb. on October 21 to compete in the Flaming Tiger NAIA Classic.  The race begins at 10 a.m.