Waverly, Iowa -- A new school record by Conner Riley highlighted Indian Hills' appearance at the John Kurtt Invitational on Saturday. The Warriors had four runners who challenged the 5K course in the meet hosted by Wartburg College.
Riley, a sophomore, continued his early-season hot streak, finishing in 12th place in an IHCC record time of 16:13. "Conner's time was over 45 seconds faster than his previous showing at the Region XI Time Trial two weeks earlier," said Indian Hills coach Brent Ewing. "Conner showed up ready for a challenge. Although it was a small field he took advantage of the fast pace set by the Wartburg runners. He definitely has a lot of momentum right now."
Crossing the line second for the Warriors was Ethan Mesenbrink in 16:55. Mesenbrink also dropped considerable time from his season opener. He finished 24th overall. Former high school teammates at East Marshall HS, Cade Curphy and Seth Kilborn, rounded out the IHCC participants. Curphy had an impressive 50-second improvement from two weeks prior, running 17:50, good for 38th place. Kilborn was right behind in 17:59, just two places back.
The Warriors will head to Joplin, Missouri for their next meet on Saturday, Sept. 21, to compete in the prestigious Southern Stampede hosted by Missouri Southern. Indian Hills will have an opportunity to race against some of the best two-year schools in the nation at the event's 30th anniversary.