Iowa City, IA – The Indian Hills Men's Cross Country squad made a statement on Friday night with a dominant showing at the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by the University of Iowa. The Warriors were led by a pair of school-record performances and six personal best efforts.
"Our men's team really fired on all cylinders tonight," stated head coach Brent Ewing. "Rarely do you get a meet like this so early in the year where just about everything goes right. Our men trusted in my plan and their abilities and executed it perfectly."
In his collegiate debut, Brandon Ford (Perth, West Australia/Duncraig) shattered the previous men's 6k school record with a blistering time of 18:25.90. Ford's mark is 69 seconds better than former Warrior Brady Millikin's time which was set during the 2022 campaign.
Ford's time was good enough for a ninth-place finish in the 67-runner field. The freshman finished 28 seconds behind the first-place runner from Iowa.
Along with Ford's remarkable performance, sophomore Keveroy Venson (Linstead, Jamaica/Calabar) placed just behind Ford in 12th place with a time of 18:32.00, which is now the second-fastest time in school history.
Freshman Nik Davis (McCausland, IA/North Scott) put together a strong showing in his collegiate debut. Davis placed 43rd overall with a time of 19:46.60. Brody Lucas (Norwalk, IA/Norwalk) placed 52nd overall with a personal best time of 20:10.20 while Logan Soedt (Eldridge, IA/North Scott) also ran a personal best at 20:35.5 to place 57th. Jacchaeus Taylor (Kansas City, KS/Raytown) rounded out the Warriors with a personal best time of 21:27.00.
"I gave both Brandon and Keveroy race plans that had them finishing in 18:38-18:57. They had been training at a very high level these first 3 weeks of practice but sometimes that doesn't always show in the first race. They certainly exceeded my expectations. Freshman Nik Davis ran one of the fastest 6ks in program history, followed by sophomores Brody Lucas, Logan Soedt and JT Taylor all running substantial personal bests. It was a very promising start, especially considering that Moubarik Yago, who could very well be our number one finisher on any given day, didn't compete. This group has the ability to be a top five program in the country come November. I think tonight's performance certainly demonstrated that."
In a meet featuring just five teams, the Warriors entered as the lone junior college program and held their own at the Ashton Cross Country Course. Indian Hills' 112 team points were behind Iowa's 17, Creighton University's 46, and Illinois State University's 92 points. The Warriors finished ahead of Truman Sate University by 15 points.
Indian Hills returns to action September 15 at the Bradley Intercollegiate at Detweiller Park in Peoria, IL.
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