Pella, IA – The Indian Hills Men's Cross Country team opened its 2021 season with a second-place showing at the Dutch Invite, hosted by Central College Friday night. Sophomore Nick O'Connor (Tiffin, IA/Clear Creek Amana) led the way with a fifth-place overall finish.
The Warriors put together a full team effort on the 6k Central College campus course with five runners finishing under 21:00 in the event. O'Connor, a returning All-American for the Warriors, finished fifth overall with a time of 20:17.3. Fellow sophomores Isaac Bryant (Grinnell, IA/Grinnell-Newburg) and Chris Metz (Freeport, IL/Freeport) posted top-10 finishes as Bryant crossed the finish line at 20:25.9 for a sixth place finish followed by Metz at 20:30.9 for an eighth place finish.
Brady Mlilkin (Hedrick, IA/Pekin) recorded a time of 20:44.3 to place 10th overall and Colten Glosser (Packwood, IA/Pekin) came in at 20:51.6 for a 12th place finish for the Warriors.
"I was real pleased with the way things went today," head coach Brent Ewing stated. "Our guys did a great job packing up. We had five guys under 21 minutes which is a great place to start, especially on a little bit of a hilly course."
The Warriors placed second overall behind host Central who claimed the top four individual finishers.
Next up for the Warriors is a trip to the Les Duke Invitational on the Grinnell College campus at 10:00 AM on Sept. 11.
Returning All-American Nick O'Connor led the men's team tonight at the Dutch Invite, finishing fifth overall.
— Indian Hills XC/TF (@IHCCrunning) September 4, 2021
Full highlights: https://t.co/8a2IMlMDVT pic.twitter.com/KQIYSvGkuh
