The Barclay College Men’s & Women’s Cross Country teams went to Sterling College (Sterling, KS) on Friday, September 5 to compete in the Warrior Fest Invitational. In spite of some wind, the day turned out to be ideal for running. Four women’s runners and four men’s runners competed against Sterling College, Central Christian College (McPherson, KS), and unattached runners from both Sterling and Central. Of the eight BC runners, two were able to qualify for the NCCAA National Meet to be held in Houghton, NY on November 15th.

Men’s Head Coach Ryan Kendall noted, “It was a great first meet for us this year. We have several first year runners, so for them to be able to compete in a small meet to get things figured out was nice. The meet was run very well. It was on a nice course that was very accessible for coaches and the spectators that showed up.”

For the men’s team, Sophomore Tanner Huck (Coldwater, KS) qualified for nationals with an impressive 32:28 in is first ever collegiate run. Shawn Richardson (Colorado Springs, CO) nearly qualified as well in his first ever race with a 35:03. Freshman Jared Werstler (Uniontown, OH) ran his first 8k after running the 5k all through high school, and Sophomore Nick Lemonds (Newberg, OR) competed as well.

Senior Katelyn Ogle (Wichita, KS) ran a personal best 22:44, qualifying her for Nationals by almost 2 minutes. Junior Caitlin Young (Russell, KS), our only other returning runner, ran a personal best time by well over a minute. Sophomore Kayla Carr (Fowler, KS) ran a 26:20, just under two minutes shy of qualifying, and Freshman Christy Anderson (Colorado Springs, CO) competed for her first time.

The team will compete next Saturday, September 13, in the Romp at the Ridge in Hutchinson, KS. Women run at 10:00 AM CST and men run at 10:45 AM.