DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's cross country team won the Viking Invitational while the men finished second Friday evening at Ewing Park.
The Drake women claimed seven top-10 finishes to cruise to the team victory with 19 points and Krista Maguire's (Wausau Wis.) first-place finish leading the way. The junior posted a time of 19:41 on 5-kilometer course to win by 47 seconds over the 72-runner field.
“Coach and I had talked about sitting back on the big downhill and seeing where the field ended up,” Maguire said. “I tried to stay back, run my race and not worry about everybody else. It's right about where I want to be right now in the season and I feel like I have a good base built up.”
Maguire was trailed closely by teammate Mariah Kauder (Cascade, Iowa) in third with a time of 20:32 and Erica Bestul (Apple Valley, Minn.) in fourth at 20:40. Cassie Aerts (David City, Neb.) and freshman Elana Breitenbucher (St. Paul, Minn.) also scored for Drake in fifth and sixth places, respectively.
“The group did a good job of executing and working toward the goal of waiting until the middle of the race before starting to get after it,” said Drake head coach Dan Hostager. “I thought the efforts were outstanding. We've been training hard and the legs were tired going into it.”
The men's team held back the majority of its roster with just five runners competing. Those five managed to turn in four top-15 finishes to take second place behind Morningside, a squad that came into the meet ranked 14th in the NAIA ranks.
“They got at some effort stuff today that we can't get in practice, so that will help bridge the gap towards being race fit,” Hostager said. “We want to show individual and collective improvement and those that ran today definitely did that and it should be good momentum heading into bigger meets ahead.”
The men's team was led by freshman Isaiah Vlasek (Walford, Iowa) in sixth place with a time of 26:47 on the 8-kilometer course. Ali Jandal (La Crosse, Wis.) finished just behind him in seventh with a time of 27:17. Ryan Ross (Algonquin, Ill.) was ninth in 27:52 followed by Calvin Quarterman (McHenry, Ill.) in 13th at 28:01.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, Minn. The men's race begins at 12:20 p.m., followed by the women's race at 1:10 p.m.
Women's Team Results
1. Drake, 19
2. Grand View, 60
3. Morningside, 69
4. DMACC, 121
5. William Penn, 146
6. Simpson, 151
7. Southwestern, 196
Drake Women's Results
5 kilometers – 72 runners
1. Krista Maguire, 19:41
3. Mariah Kauder, 20:32
4. Erica Bestul, 20:40
5. Cassie Aerts, 20:51
6. Elana Breitenbucher, 20:54
8. Bailee Cofer, 21:14
9. Angela Ufheil, 21:24
13. Samantha Nielsen, 21:58
15. Kayla Giuliana, 22:14
16. Stephanie Parks, 22:15
25. Shelby Varney, 22:54
26. Laura Gann, 23:00
Men's Team Results
1. Morningside, 17
2. Drake, 50
3. Southwestern, 87
4. William Penn, 125
5. Grand View, 127
6. Grand View Alumni, 142
7. Simpson, 174
Drake Men's Results
8 kilometers – 77 runners
6. Isaiah Vlasek, 26:47
7. Ali Jandal, 27:17
9. Ryan Ross, 27:52
13. Calvin Quarterman, 28:01
30. George Webb, 29:38
