Dakota Wesleyan toes the line at Augustana Twilight Meet, competes in first race of 2021
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In their first race of the 2021 season, the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s and women’s cross country teams toed the line at the Augustana Twilight Meet on Friday night at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, S.D. Two members of the Dakota Wesleyan women’s cross country team competed in the 5K race while the DWU men battled in the 4-mile race, coming away with a 28th-place finish in the team standings.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In their first race of the 2021 season, the Dakota Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams toed the line at the Augustana Twilight Meet on Friday night at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, S.D. Two members of the Dakota Wesleyan women's cross country team competed in the 5K race while the DWU men battled in the 4-mile race, coming away with a 28th-place finish in the team standings.
In the women's 5K race, sophomore Morgan Oedekoven (Pierre, S.D.) led the charge for the lady Tigers looking to build off a strong freshman campaign. Oedekoven crossed the finish line in 213th place while tallying a time of 22:26.06 minutes. Fellow Tiger Annika Vermeulen (Mitchell, S.D.) finished just 30 spots behind in 243rd place with a time of 22:58.26.
On the men's side, Caleb Sayler (Lennox, S.D.) paced the Blue and Gray in his first collegiate race. The Dakota Wesleyan freshman completed the 4-mile race in a time of 22:38.08 and placed just outside the top-100, crossing the finish line in 115th place.
Junior duo Justin Sorensen (Vermillion, S.D.) and Wyatt Baldauf (Seneca, Ill.) meanwhile came in second and third for the Tigers, separated by just 11 seconds. Sorensen concluded the men's competition with a time of 23:15.31 while Baldauf traversed the course in a time of 23:27.18.
Rounding out the scoring for DWU was sophomore Hunter Shanks (Bennington, Neb.) and Zach Fieber (Goodwin, S.D.) who clocked times of 25:45.00 and 25:58.40, respectively. Also competing for the Tigers was Brydon Henning (Montezuma, Iowa) registering a time of 26:40.35 in his first collegiate race.
Officially, the DWU men's team came away with a 28th-place finish in the team standings totaling an average time of 24:12.80.
The Dakota Wesleyan men's and women's cross country teams toe the line next at the Morningside Invite. The women's race will start at 5:30 p.m. while the men's race will follow at 6:10 p.m. on Friday, September 17th in Sioux City, Iowa.
DWU Men's and Women's Full Results:
Women's 5K Race:
213th - Morgan Oedekoven - 22:26.06
243rd - Annika Vermeulen - 22:58.26
Men's 4-Mile Race:
115th - Caleb Sayler - 22:38.08
153rd - Justin Sorensen - 23:15.31
158th - Wyatt Baldauf - 23:27.18
197th - Hunter Shanks - 25:45.00
199th - Zach Fieber - 25:58.40
203rd - Brydon Henning - 26:40.35
