BALDWIN CITY, KS - Grand View toed the line at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday at the Mike Spielman Cross Country Course in Baldwin City, hosted by Baker University. After a 12th place preseason ranking, the Viking men made an incredible comeback throughout the year and finished sixth with 180 points, a 105-point improvement over last year's championships. The Viking women placed 14th, recording multiple personal records and showing huge individual improvement to close out the season.
The men were in close competition with MidAmerica Nazarene, Baker and William Penn throughout the race. Grand View finished only five points behind William Penn and 20 points ahead of both Baker and MidAmerica Nazarene.
Senior Matt Bonner led the Vikings with an aggressive start to the 8K, placing 29th in 26:58. Damion Winkler (SO) placed 32nd and was second for the team in 27:05, despite battling an injury for much of the season. He moved up multiple places over the distance and fought through the line, beating the next runner by only hundredths of a second. Freshman Cayden Fry set a lifetime PR of 27:38 and placed 49th with a strong finish in the last mile. Jacob Chamberlain (SO) was close behind in 27:46, also setting a lifetime PR on a more challenging course, and placed 53rd.
Teaghan Warren (SO) rounded out the scoring in 84th with a time of 28:40, which was a full minute faster than his time at a meet on the same course three weeks ago. Tayte Warren, mostly a 400-meter runner during track season, made his cross country debut and placed 89th in 28:48. Tobias Simmons (JR) and Alan Johnson (FR) each improved by nearly a minute since the last meet on the Baldwin City course, running 30:03 and 32:38 respectively.
In the women's 6K, Kendall Hein ran a season best, placing 26th in 23:58. Sarah Ho set a PR of 28:33, closing out a strong freshman season and finishing second for the Viking women. Ella Beals (SO) improved her season best by about two minutes, finishing in 29:10 after dealing with an injury early in the season. Elise Smith (SO) and Kaylin Mitchell (JR), both hurdlers, stepped up for the team and made their collegiate cross country debuts, finishing in 29:36 and 31:38 in their first career 6K races. Abby Castle, a freshman, set a PR of 32:26, dropping 30 seconds off her season best. Natalie Plum (SR) finished in 36:41.
With a roster made up mostly of sophomores and freshmen, things are looking up for the Vikings.
UP NEXT After closing out a great cross country season, Grand View will kick off the indoor track season on Saturday, December 5th at Saint Ambrose University.
