North Sioux City, S.D. –
Dakota Wesleyan University cross country competed in the GPAC Championships this morning in North Sioux City, S.D. Caleb Sayler finished 13th to earn All-Conference honors and will be awaiting to hear if he has qualified for the NAIA National Championship on November 17th in Vancouver, Washington. Head Coach Matthew Rosado said this for the team's overall performance in the GPAC Championship "regardless of the results from today, good of bad, I can say I've never been prouder of a group of athletes up to this point. I am honored to be a part of their journey and life. Majority of us move onto track where I believe we will continue to make great strides."
Quick Stats –
Women's Race
43rd - Abby Hasart –24:14.5
83rd - Caley Murphy –26:34.5
99th - Adaya Plastow –32:36.2
100th - Dani Deffenbaugh - 32:36.6
101st - Hailey Oswald - 32:36.6
Men's Race
13th - Caleb Sayler – 25:31.4
30th - Hunter Shanks –26:34.2
91st - Barret Nielsen - 37:50.5
92nd - Quenton Walls - 37:51.2
93rd - Jared Harris - 38:26.6
How It Happened –
The women's raced kicked off at 10:45 at the Adam's Homestead Nature Preserve. Abby Hasart led the way for the women's team as she crossed the finish line in 43rd place. Teammate Caley Murphy ran a tough race and crossed with a time just eighteen seconds slower than her personal best. Adaya Plastow, Dani Deffenbaugh, and Hailey Oswald crossed the line as a pack with a time of 32:36.6. Coach Matt Rosado had this to say about the women's championship race; "Ultimately, we didn't get what we wanted out the day. Caley put together a solid race to cap off a major season of growth for her. Abby battled sickness all week and we hoped we could overcome it, but it got the best of us." Hasart and Murphy each had a record setting season with Hasart claiming the fastest 6k time in DWU history and Murphy put in the fourth fastest time in the record books.
Caleb Sayler turned in a stellar time as he crossed the finish line in 13th place, a position that should qualify him for the NAIA National Cross-Country Championship. Sayler earned his second GPAC All-Conference honor in cross country today. Hunter Shanks ran a time just one second shy of a new personal best and crossed in the 30th place, one of his best races this season. Barret Nielsen, Quenton Walls and Jared Harris crossed for the Tigers in the 91st, 92nd, and 93rd positions to round out the team scoring. "Our guys had a great showing, and we knew it would be a dogfight to show improvement from last year's individual performances. When all the smoke settles from the weekend, we should be celebrating another national birth for Caleb. Hunter roughed out a great race plan to match his lifetime best, if you would have told him early this season this is how he performs we wouldn't have believed it. His growth within the sport has been two-fold and I'm excited to see how the oval treats us," Coach Rosado said after the men's race. Sayler moved up in the record books this season to fourth overall and Shanks missed the top ten by a handful of seconds.
Up Next for the Tigers –
Sayler will have to wait for the official news from the NAIA but will be preparing for the NAIA National Championship in Vancouver, Washington.