Grinnell-- Sophomores Marcus Graham and Michael DeMeyer didn't let muddy conditions stop them from making history at the 57th Annual Les Duke Invitational hosted by Grinnell College on Saturday, September 8th.
DeMeyer raced his way to a 5th place finish, crossing the line in 26 minutes and 32 seconds. That time currently stands as the 4th fastest time in school history, and was a mere 4-seconds off of the previous school record set by Derek Wilson in 2015. Ewing said on DeMeyer, "Michael continues to show that he belongs in the conversation as one of the better runners in our region. He had a huge personal best after his highest mileage week ever, as well as back-to-back weeks of having his furthest long-run ever". However, that record wouldn't stand past Saturday as DeMeyer wasn't the only one making history at the Les Duke Invitational.
Marcus Graham rolled virtually unchallenged to the individual victory, crossing the line in a new Indian Hills Community College school-record time of 25 minutes and 29 seconds, over 40-seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Graham said after the race, "The course was kind of muddy in some spots, and had some decent hills, but overall I felt really, really relaxed. I felt like at any time I could have dropped the hammer and run a lot faster. It was a fun day to see where my fitness is at and to watch my teammates' hard work begin to pay off as well. "Ewing weighed on Graham saying, "Marcus looked unreal. You would be hard pressed to find another runner in the NJCAA who has as much momentum as he does right now. Breaking the school record and winning while doing it in the fashion that he did was incredible."
Other harriers rounding out the top-7 for the Warriors at Grinnell included: Freshman Zach Schocker (51st), Freshman Seth Kilborn (56th), Sophomore Clayton Grainger (62nd), Freshman Drake VanBaale (70th), and Freshman Elijah Boesch (86th). The team finished 6th out of 19 teams. Coach Ewing said after the meet, "I was very proud of the men's team. Our pack of runners 3-6 did a good job of trying to stay in contact throughout the race. They will play a big role in how we do later this year". Ewing continued to say, "Marcus & Michael looked tremendously smooth. If we can stay healthy and continue to put in consistent work, we are going to be a very good team come November".
The Warriors will return to action on Friday, September 21st at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College.