Ottumwa, IA – The No. 10 Indian Hills Men's Cross Country team impressed its home crowd on Friday with a second-place finish at the 2021 Indian Hills Invitational on the Cedar Creek Golf Course. The Warriors finished as runners-up to No. 6 Iowa Western Community College.
The Warriors totaled 49 team points behind five top-13 finishes, including three inside the top-9. Sophomore Nick O'Connor (Tiffin, IA/Clear Creek Amana) led the charge for the Warriors with a seventh-place finish at 26:17.0 in the 8k event.
Isaac Bryant (Grinnell, IA/Grinnell-Newburg) followed up O'Connor with a time of 26:34.4 to place eighth overall and Brady Millikin placed ninth with a time of 26:42.5. Chris Metz (Freeport, IL/Freeport) came in 12th place overall at 26:57.0 and Colten Glosser (Packwood, IA/Pekin) rounded out the scoring in 13th place with a time of 27:06.2
"Our whole top-five ran really well," stated Indian Hills assistant coach Noah Larrison. "They packed up awesome today. Nick and Isaac kicked out really hard. Isaac decided to lead the race for about the whole first mile and I love to see that - he made sure to set up everyone else to run some fast times. For the circumstances and conditions the course gave us, I'm very happy with how we competed."
The runner-up finish for the Warriors is the team's third of the season as the team continues to climb in the national rankings.
The Warriors' annual home event saw a record 12 teams competing at Cedar Creek on Friday with 72 individual runners. Iowa Western's Nicholas Kiprotich was the top overall finisher with a time of 24:24.8,
Friday's event concludes the regular season portion of the Warriors' schedule as the team begins preparations for the postseason. The 2021 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XI Championship is set for Friday, Oct. 29 at 4:45 PM in Waterloo, IA.
