Warrior Runners End Season at National Championship

OTTUMWA --- Some career-best times highlighted the Indian Hills cross country team’s performance at their season-ending meet last Saturday. The Warriors men’s and women’s squads ended the fall campaign at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Peoria, Illinois.
Freshman Jon Gerling paced the Indian Hills men with a time of 27:55 over the 8K course to finish 93rd out of 280 runners. That broke Gerling’s school record he set earlier in the fall by 14 seconds.
“Jon may have been a little rusty because we hadn’t competed since the Lamb-Kohawk Invitational on October 10,” said Streeby. “Jon is proof of what consistent dedication to running will do for you,” said the IHCC coach. “He will be working to take a lot off that time next year.”
The other two men’s runners battled injury and illness during the race. Freshman Steele Fiscus had stomach cramps and was four-and-a-half minutes off his best time of the year. Freshman Brennen Wears started fast and was moving up in the field when a reoccurring leg injury forced him to stop just past the three-mile mark.

Gerling Ties School Record at Coe

Cedar Rapids, IA -- Freshman Jon Gerling equalled the Indian Hills school record with an outstanding performance at the Lamb-Kohawk Invitational on Saturday. Gerling's time of 28:09 tied his performance earlier in the year and was good for 10th place. The result by the IHCC freshman was especially impressive when you consider the weather conditions. According to Indian Hills coach Jim Streeby, the temperature was 30 degrees, there was a brisk northwest wind and wet snow was falling when the 8K race got underway.
Steele Fiscus finished in 26th place for the Warriors with a time of 31:31. Lucas Brightwell ran 33:49 for 31st place and Keenan Wyngarden improved his time for the second meet in a row with a 33rd-place finish (34:23) for IHCC.
Streeby noted that only about half as many runners took part in the invitational as last year with the weather certainly the big reason for that.
Indian Hills will have the rest of the month to prepare for the Super Regionals October 31 in Peoria, Illinois.

Warriors Show Improvement in Davenport Meet

Davenport, IA -- With several of the runners turning in their lowest times of the season, the Indian Hills men's cross country team took part in the 28th Annual Brissman/Lundeen Invitational at Credit Island on Friday.

Freshman Jon Gerling once again led the Warriors with a time of 28:33 over the 8K course, good for 165th place. Freshman Brennen Wears ran 29:53 in his first meet of the year. One of the Warriors who made a huge improvement was Steele Fiscus, who cut nearly 2:30 off his previous best time, running 30:19. Lucas Brightwell finished behind Fiscus but didn't record a time because his chip didn't read on the electronic finish device. Keenan Wyngarden was 49 seconds faster than his previous best time, rounding out the Warrior runners in a time of 34:26.

Coach Jim Streeby pointed out that, had Brightwell's time counted, the Warriors would have placed 25th as a team. Over 30 teams and more than 700 runners competed in the meet which was run on a flat, soggy course in Davenport.

The next action for the Warriors will come in the Lamb-Kohawk Inviational in Cedar Rapids on October 10.

Warriors Run at Grinnell

Grinnell, IA -- Indian Hills freshman Jon Gerling set a school record as the Warriors took part in the 49th Les Duke Invitational at Oakland Acres in Grinnell on Saturday. Gerling led the Warriors with a time of 28:09 over the 8K course, breaking the record set by Tony Beal by 39 seconds. Gerling finished 50th out of over 200 runners who took part in the men's race. There were three two-year schools in the field and Gerling's time was the fastest of all the community college runners.

Teammate Steele Fiscus was 165th in a time of 32:47. Lucas Brightwell had a time of 35:10 and Keenan Winegarden's time was 35:15 for the Warriors.

Indian Hills' next action will be September 25 at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational in Davenport.

XCross Country Season Begins at Pella

Pella, IA -- On what Indian Hills first-year coach Jim Streeby described as "a perfect day to run with clear skies and cooler temperatures," the IHCC men's cross country team opened its fall campaign at the Dutch Invitational, hosted by Central College, on Saturday.
The top finisher for the Warriors was freshman Jon Gerling, who prepped at Winfield-Mt. Union. Gerling finished in 20th place in the 6K race with a time of 20:50. That was just over a minute off the winning time. Next for IHCC was Steele Fiscus, another freshman from BCLUW High School, who was 62nd (22:51). Lucas Brightwell and Keenan Wyngarden, freshmen from Des Moines North and Ottumwa High School, respectively, were next for Indian Hills. Brightwell was 84th (24:14) and Wyngarden 103rd (26:23).
The Warriors will take part in the Les Duke Invitational in Grinnell on Sept. 12. There will be over 30 teams and 350 runners competing in both men's and women's competition in that meet.

2008 Season Review

The IHCC men’s cross country team was a veteran squad in 2008 with the top six runners all sophomores. Tony Beal had the best time for Indian Hills in the first five meets of the fall. Tim Archer seized the team lead at the end of the season. Archer capped his sophomore campaign with a time of 29:29 over the 8K course at the NJCAA Division I National Championships in South Carolina. Ryan Noe, Carson McIntosh, Jake Schreur and Enrique Ramirez also competed well all season long for the Warriors.