GRINNELL— With its top seven runners all in the top 10, the Central College men's cross country team stamped a clear victory at the Les Duke Invitational hosted by Grinnell College Saturday.
           
Central had a team total of 16 points, 45 clear of the runners-up from Grinnell College.
           
Jack Brown (senior, Norwalk) was the individual champion but only by a whisker as his time of 26 minutes, 0.4 seconds in the 8,000-meter race was only four tenths of a second better than William Wadsley (senior, Gilbert) in second place (26:00.8) and five tenths better than Isaac Rankin (freshman, Knoxville) in third (26:00.9)
           
"The first 8K of the season is always a challenge," coach Joe Dunham said. "I was really proud of our upperclassmen for the way they put together races and stuck to the game plan."
           
A second freshman, Carter Nunn (Marshalltown) was fourth in 26:19.6.
           
"Our freshmen were also very smart," Dunham said. "They were not overwhelmed by the long distance of the race and really ran within themselves throughout the race."
           
A trio of juniors closed out the lineup for Central with Donovan Card (senior, Norwalk) in sixth (26:29.9), James Brant (Tama, South Tama County HS) in eighth (26:43.8) and Austin Vander Werf (junior, Saint Charles, Interstate 35 HS) in ninth (26:45.9)
           
Central hosts the Dutch Open on Friday, September 25.
           
Get event recaps and other important updates about Central College athletics directly to your e-mail by subscribing here!