Cross Country 9/2/2025 12:23:00 PM

Cross Country Finishes First Race of the Season

DECATUR, IL - The cross country team got their season officially underway as they traveled to Decatur, Illinois on Friday for the Wright Classic hosted by Millikin University.

Thomas Wells led the pack and finished with a time of 22:27.50, placing on the individual board at 14th. Jakob Rupp placed 23rd with a time of 27:27.20, Malachi Lathrop placed 24th with a time of 28:09.40, Cooper Nurrenbern placed 25th with a time of 28:47.40, and Logan Henthorn placed 26th with a time of 31:46.30.

Head coach Dalton Baker enters the 2025 season with a totally new team, consisting of all freshman, and his first team as head coach.

"For this meet I didn't have any expectations except for the runners to give their all out on the course", Baker said. "For the runners this was their first race in college and I was more looking for how they handled the pressure and looking at areas that we could improve on before the next race. All of my runners tried their hardest and it resulted in a great starting point in their first career race."

Baker also mentioned, "Thomas led us out of the gun and had a really good progression throughout the race and improved from around 25th position up to 14th. The next three (Cooper, Malachi, and Jakob) really packed up and used each other to push through the race. Logan was our final 5th runner and had a great showing for his first race. We are gearing up for Springfield this Friday where it will be a great chance to see where we are in relation to the region as Heartland, Spoon River, and others will be there."

Up next...
The team will race at the Prairie Star Invite on Friday, September 5th in Springfield, Illinois.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Wells: 5' 8"; Freshman

Jakob Rupp: 5' 10"; Freshman

Cooper Nurrenbern: 6' 0"; Freshman

Logan Henthorn: 5' 11"; Freshman

Malachi Lathrop: 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Thomas Wells
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Jakob Rupp
: 5' 10"; Freshman

Cooper Nurrenbern
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Logan Henthorn
: 5' 11"; Freshman

Malachi Lathrop
: 6' 3"; Freshman