DAKOTA WESLEYAN BATTLES THE ELEMENTS, HITS MID-SEASON STRIDE AT BRIAR CLIFF INVITE

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – For the second-straight meet, and under rainy and humid conditions, the Dakota Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams traversed the course at Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve as both squads competed at the Briar Cliff University Invite on Friday in Sioux City, Iowa. In the women's 5K race, Annika Vermeulen (Mitchell, S.D.) kicked off the action while Caleb Sayler (Lennox, S.D.) and the DWU men's team toed the line in the 8K race.

Vermeulen, who cracked the top-100 in the individual standings, clocked a time of 22:20.58. Also competing in the women's 5K race for the Blue and Gray was Morgan Oedekoven (Pierre, S.D.).

On the men's side, Sayler came away with a six-second personal best and a top-40 finish as he completed the 8K course in a time of 27:39.93.

Junior duo Wyatt Baldauf (Seneca, Ill.) and Justin Sorensen (Vermillion, S.D.) meanwhile finished back-to-back with times of 28:59.98 and 29:09.56, respectively. Rounding out the finishers for the Tiger men was Hunter Shanks (Bennington, Neb.), clocking a time of 31:09.81 while Zach Fieber (Goodwin, S.D.) also competed in the men's race.

"We ran well under the conditions," iterated interim director of cross country and track and field Chris Aschemann on today's performance. "It was a little bit more humid than we expected, though I thought the team responded well and ran hard."

Dakota Wesleyan races next at the Defender Classic hosted by Dordt University a week from Saturday, on Oct. 9 in Sioux Center, Iowa. The women's 5K race will commence at 10 a.m. while the men's 8K race is set to begin at 10:30 a.m.

DWU Men's and Women's Full Results

Women's 5K Results:

97^th - Annika Vermeulen – 22:20.58

Men's 8K Results:

36^th – Caleb Sayler – 27:39.93

64^th – Wyatt Baldauf – 28:59.98

67^th – Justin Sorensen – 29:09.56

102^nd – Hunter Shanks – 31:09.81