The Eagles cross country team earned its place as Heartland Conference champions, highlighted by nine individual runners in the top-20.
Cross country Head Coach Wade Miller said his team knew before the race it needed to be ready for some challenging weather conditions for the race. “Going in, we knew we were going to have to handle some muddy conditions and persevere and work through them to be successful,” Miller said.
Senior Brennyn Kaelin did just that when he took the individual crown with his time of 25:42.3. This was Kaelin’s first career individual win. Teammate and 2013 Heartland Conference Champion Roberto Diaz came in right behind Kaelin at second place with his time of 25:58.5.
Miller said his men were well prepared and eager for the opportunity. “Coming in to this race we were excited and grateful to be in this position with a good team and a chance to compete for a conference championship,” Miller said.
The Eagles’ third top-five finisher came when Kyle Broaddrick posted his time of 26:14.2 – fast enough to earn fourth.
Coming into this race, Broaddrick said he knew his team would be ready to compete in such an important race.
“Up to this point, this race held the highest stakes as it would be our first chance to bring back a Heartland Conference championship to OC,” Broaddrick said. “Preparation-wise, we were ready. We all put in the work over the semester and the big key was to make sure we did not have any mental lapses during the race, and we did just that.”
The next Oklahoma Christian runner behind Broaddrick was senior Bryant Kierns at sixth with his time of 26:17.4. Finishing behind Kierns came Timothy Zeurcher and Sisay Gillock at seventh and eighth, respectively – Zeurcher with a time of 26:28.8 and Gillock at 26:54.2.
For the first time in school history, the Eagles will be eligible to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional meet on Nov. 7 in Canyon, Texas.
Statistics provided by Oklahoma Christian University Sports Information Department.
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