CRETE, Neb. – The 2015 Dakota Wesleyan University cross country season came to a close at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships with the Tiger men and women competing Saturday in Crete, Neb.
The Tiger men finished ninth out of 11 teams, while the women took 11th out 12 teams at the annual GPAC event. The conference team titles went to the Dordt College women and the Nebraska Wesleyan University men.
The DWU men were led by Jeremiah Panec (Kenesaw, Neb.) with a 24th-place finish. He finished the 8k course in 27 minutes, 8.14 seconds to pace the Tigers. Panec's former high school teammate Lane Tibbs (Kenesaw, Neb.) crossed the line in 54th place with a time of 28:11.47.
Tiger freshman Bryce Blank (Rapid City, S.D.) added a 72nd-place performance to close out his freshman season in 28:52.44. DWU men's golfer Elliot Banks (East Sussex, England) joined the team for the GPAC meet, while former Tiger soccer star Chaz Foss (Rapid City, S.D.) also competed.
The Tiger women were led once again by senior Skylar Forgey (Colome, S.D.), who ran her last cross country race for DWU on Saturday. She placed 51st on the 5k course in a time of 20:29.78. Next across for the Tigers was freshman Kelsie King (Mission Viejo, Calif.) in 55th with a time of 20:43.64.
Four-time NAIA All-American for DWU track and field Nicole Court-Menendez (Lewiston, Maine) concluded her cross country career with a 72nd-place showing.