SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Iowa Western Cross Country ran in their second event of the 2022-23 season at the Augustana Twilight. The meet featured NCAA D1, D2, NAIA, and two other junior college teams. The Reivers ended the meet as the top JUCO team for both the men and the women. Mercy Biwott led the women with a 13th place finish and Jacinto Gaspar, in his debut led the men, placing 41st. "I feel like we can start the season now," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Marc Bierbaum. "The twilight to me always marks the start of the XC season. The energy and excitement of racing under the lights with 300 other runners was a great experience for the team."
"We learned a lot about where we are as a team tonight," added Bierbaum. "We got a little excited and went out a little hard, but there was a lot of fight at the end which is encouraging for the future."
Josey French and Zach Rathburn had great races with French finishing two minutes faster than the week before. The scorers for each side included Mercy Biwott, Bethany Stacey, Ryann Portch, Josey French, Reese Johnson for the women and Jacinto Gaspar, Zach Rathburn, Connor Boring, Kylan Willis, and Jose Lara for the Men. The ladies had a pack time of 3:01 from 1-5 and the men had a 1:55 pack time which the team will aim to get under 1:30 in the future.
Next up for the Reivers will be the Woody Greeno-Dirksen Invite in two weeks September 17th.
