JBU cross country teams open season in Conway
The John Brown University women’s cross country team opened its season this past Saturday at the Central Arkansas XC Challenge at Beaverfork Lake in Conway.
The Golden Eagles finished sixth overall with 147 points, behind host Central Arkansas 15, Arkansas-Little Rock 82, Southern Arkansas 95, Oral Roberts 106 and College of the Ozarks 120. Ouchita Baptist placed seventh at 173, followed by Arkansas Pine-Bluff 236, Lyon 255 and Mississippi Valley 264.
John Brown sophomore and Siloam Springs native Allika Pearson led the Golden Eagles in the 4K race, finishing seventh overall at 15 minutes, 20.6 seconds. Pearson, who advanced to the NAIA National Championships as a freshman last season, is expected to be among the Golden Eagles’ top runners again in 2019.
“I’m excited to see what (Pearson) does this fall,” said JBU coach Scott Schochler. “I think there’s a really good possibility of her getting back to nationals again and setting some program best marks is a real possibility for her.”
Freshman Madelyn Shasteen (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) was JBU’s next finisher at 32nd overall with a time of 16:54.8. Shasteen is one of six freshman on the team.
“(Shasteen) is a competitor who does not like to give up spots in practice,” Schochler said. “She should be competing for one of our top five spots. We’ll see how she improves throughout the year.”
Freshman Brooke Wilson (Giltner, Neb.) placed 37th at 17:12.5. Schochler said Wilson comes from a small high school in Nebraska where she ran track.
“This will be her first year of cross country,” Schochler said. “She looks good in training and there’s a difference in training and racing. The learning curve will be steep at times, but she’s a competitor and good overall athlete.”
Freshman Lainee Stiver (Germantown, Ohio) was 41st at 17:19.9. Stiver struggled with injuries during high school, Schochler said, but she’s healthy now.
“We’re hoping to see a big improvement from her,” Schochler said. “Lainee understands the sport very well. Once her training catches up with her knowledge she’ll contribute well.”
Freshman Abigail Hampton (Carrollton, Texas) placed 50th at 17:51.6. Schochler said Hampton could eventually be one of the Golden Eagles’ top three runners before its all said and done.
“She had some good PRs and really improved as a senior (in high school),” Schochler said. “I expect her to get her feet wet with college racing.
“All our freshmen have the ability to compete for a top five spot throughout the year.”
Freshman Korey Winter (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed 52nd at 18:06.5. Winter was coached in high school at the Vangaurd School by former JBU runner Kari Miller, who graduated in 2015.
“That’s fun to get to see an athlete that one of my former athletes produced and pointed toward JBU,” Schochler said. “Korey has the ability to contribute to our team right away.”
JBU’s lone senior, Molly Brownwell (Hiawatha, Iowa), placed 58th overall at Saturday’s race with a time of 18:35.6.
Freshman Adrianna Feaster (Friendswood, Texas) was 62nd at 18:49.4.
Junior Elizabeth Brownwell, the younger sister of Molly Brownwell, placed 70th at 19:56.7. It’s her second year of experience but she’s coming back from an injury, Schochler said.
Junior Sarah Larson (Wichita, Kan.) was the Golden Eagles’ No. 2 runner last year but didn’t race this past weekend.
Sophomore Rebecca Chamberlain (Evergreen, Colo.) also didn’t race.
Men
The JBU men also finished sixth this past weekend in Conway.
Central Arkansas was first at 25, followed by ArkansasLittle Rock at 68, Southern Arkansas 93, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 103, Oral Roberts 126, John Brown 150, College of the Ozarks 150, Mississippi Valley 255, Lyon 280, Hendrix 300, Central Baptist 322, Arkansas-Monticello 339 and LeMoyne-Owen 357.
Junior Ben Martin (Wichita, Kan.) placed fifth overall in the 5K race with a time of 19:21.4.
Martin began to show improvement at the end of his freshman year and had a good sophomore year.
“He’s a very smart runner and calculated,” Schochler said. “He can go very fast when he needs to. He’s a dangerous runner right now. He understands he can be one of the best runners in every race we go to, and that’s huge.”
Senior Nathan Pearson (Tulsa, Okla.) finished 28th in Conway at 20:56.9 and has shown tremendous improvement since starting as a freshman.
“He’s gone from being the last guy on the team to where he could be our No. 2 runner and it wouldn’t surprise me,” Schochler said. “He’s put in a ton of work to become a solid runner for us.”
Freshman Parker Hale (Coweta, Okla.) placed 34th at 21:04.7 and is one of three freshmen on the men’s roster,
“If he can learn how to race and train at college level he’s going to be a big contributor for us,” Schochler said. “He works really hard. It will be fun to see how he competes.”
Juniors Matthew Bloom (Wichita, Kan.), Eathan Devine (Bryant) and freshman Jadin Whiting (Flagstaff, Ariz; Kazakhstan) finished 59th, 60th and 61st respectively.
Bloom was in the Golden Eagles’ top seven runners last year and is expected to battle for a top five spot this year. Devine didn’t have a lot of experience coming into last year but slowly improved.
Whiting, who hails from Kazakhstan, put in a lot of time training during the summer.
“Since he got on campus with us, he’s been at the front pushing for our team,” Schochler said. “Jadin will be in the top three to four runners by end of the year. He has huge potential to really contribute to the front out of the team.”
Sophomore Ryan Knight (Tumwater, Wash.) placed 64th at 23:06.8 after a healthy summer. Knight has battled injuries and is still learning to race at the college level, Schochler said.
Junior Josh Unruh was 66th at 23:19.4. Unruh has battled a back injury, but he’s a valuable teammate because he understands how to train and provides leadership, Schochler said.
Senior Nate Wertjes (Tumwater, Wash.) ran a 24:10.9. Wertjes also has battled injuries but seems to be healthy, Schochler said.
“He may have his best year yet,” he said.
Freshman River Baker (Springdale Har-Ber) is expected to contribute but did not run in last week’s race.
Senior Elliott Pearson of Siloam Springs has run the past three years but will be unable to compete this year due to a back injury. He’ll stay active as a student coach, Schochler said.