Tigers culminate season at GPAC Championships

Yankton, S.D.  – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's and women's cross-country teams concluded the 2020 fall season at the GPAC Championships claiming a pair of ninth-place finishes on Saturday morning at the Fox Run Golf Course in Yankton, S.D.

 Saturday's championship featured a very stout field as the women's 5K showcased 94 runners while the men's 8K field included 86 participants.

 On the women's side, DWU was paced by the freshman duo of Tessa Kilber (Ipswich, S.D.) and Morgan Oedekoven (Pierre, S.D.). Kilber cracked the top-50 placing 47^th with a time of 21:30.06 while Oedekoven crossed the finish line just four spots back clocking a finish of 21:47.20.

 Fellow Tiger Delanie Larson (Gettysburg, S.D.) was third scoring wise in 22:12.37 while the trio of Annika Vermeulen (Mitchell, S.D.), Savannah Schmidt (Plankinton, S.D.) and Macey Bohl (Garretson, S.D.) crossed the finish line seconds apart. Vermeulen tallied a 74^th-place finish as Schmidt and Bohl notched times of 23:20.47 and 23:26.55, respectively.

Rounding out the DWU scoring for the day was Baylee Field (Fremont, Neb.) who finished the race in 25:57.33 as the Tiger women claimed a ninth-place finish. 

 The men's squad, which also claimed a ninth-place performance as a team, was led by the sophomore duo of Wyatt Baldauf (Seneca, Ill.) and Justin Sorensen (Vermillion, S.D.). Baldauf captured a 44^th-place finish with a time 29:15.34 while Sorensen completed the 8K race in 29:32.21.

 Crossing the line back-to-back was Devin Rihanek (Plankinton, S.D.) and Hunter Shanks (Bennington, Neb.) recording 56^th and 57^th-place performances. Rounding out the men's scoring was Layne Lewis (Plankinton, S.D) and Brendan Langbehn (Worthing, S.D.) clocking times of 31:38.56 and 32:54.89, respectively.

 Complete DWU Women's Results

Place – Name – Time

47th – Tessa Kilber: 21:30.06

51st – Morgan Oedekoven: 21:47.20

57th – Delanie Larson: 22:12.37

74th – Annika Vermeulen: 23:19.78

75th – Savannah Schmidt: 23:20.47

76th – Macey Bohl: 23:26.55

87th - Baylee Field: 25:57.33

 Complete DWU Men's Results

Place – Name – Time

44th – Wyatt Baldauf: 29:15.34

48th – Justin Sorensen: 29:32.21

56th – Devin Rihanek: 30:14.88

57th – Hunter Shanks: 30:17.94

68th – Layne Lewis: 31:38.56

76th – Brendan Langbehn: 32:54.89