MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.—Competing against primarily NCAA Division II and NAIA opponents, the Central College men's cross country team took 13th in a 31-team field at the Roy Griak Invitational Friday.
Indiana Wesleyan took the title with 58 points in the meet hosted by the University of Minnesota while Wayne State University (Mich.) was second with 92. Central, which made a big jump to No. 23 in the USTFCCCA Division III national rankings this week had 291 points. The Dutch were the highest of four Division III finishers in the field with a comfortable advantage over 14th-place Grinnell College which had 410 points. American Rivers foe Luther College was 19th with 578 points and Clarke University was 29th with 883.
Central's
Noah Jorgenson (senior, Sidney) took 24th in 26:24.4 on the 8,000-meter course.
William Wadsley (freshman, Gilbert) climbed to 57th (26:59.4),
Caleb Silver (5th-year, Conrad, BCLUW HS) was 58th (27:00.4),
Adam Sylvia (5th-year, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS) was 84th (27:20.1) and
Donovan Card (freshman, Norwalk) was 100th (27:30.8), Central's other two varsity finishers were
Derek Webster (junior, Norwalk), who was 139th in 27:56.4 and
Ben DeValk (junior, Solon) was 165th in 28:19.0.
"We were just a little flat today," coach
Joe Dunham said. "Part of it maybe had to do with the weather this week. We typically have a workout Tuesday that we weren't able to do because of lightning and I think it kind of had a domino effect on how we felt today. But we don't want to make excuses. I was proud of how we fought through it.
"There was a lot of good competition at this meet, and it was a good learning experience for our team."
Wadsley was Central's No. 2 runner for the first time in his freshman season.
"He's doing great," Dunham said. "He's just building his confidence and learning how to run an 8K race."
Central races next Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly. It's Central's first appearance in the meet since 2019 but the course is the site of this year's NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Nov. 11. Host Wartburg College is ranked No. 7 in Division III.
"I imagine there's going to be a lot of really good schools there so it will be a good opportunity for our team," Dunham said.
