DWU Athletic Department

DWU cross country to host home meet

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University cross country team gets to start its season somewhere it hasn’t been in several years on Friday: at home.

The Tigers host the DWU Invite Friday, Sept. 3, at Wild Oak Golf Course in Mitchell, S.D. This will be the team’s first home meet since the 2008 season.

Four teams, including three Great Plains Athletic Conference rivals, will be in attendance with the Tigers Friday. Briar Cliff University an Dordt College will both bring runners along with Dakota State University and Buena Vista University.

Both the men’s and women’s races will be short-course races. The women’s race, which starts at 4 p.m., will be a two-and-a-half-mile course and the men’s race, which starts after the women’s at around 4:30 p.m., will be a four-mile course.

Friday’s meet will be the only home meet of the year for Dakota Wesleyan. The Tigers travel to Madison, S.D., Sept. 18 for the DWU/Herb Blakely Invite and then have some time off before an Oct. 9 meet hosted by Briar Cliff in Sioux City, Iowa.

The DWU women will be led this season by senior Abby Mettler and junior Gail McIntyre. McIntyre took 26th at the 2009 GPAC Championships and Mettler was a consistent runner for the Tigers last season. Sophomores Aimee Lenocker and Kayleen Gupman also competed last season, and head coach Pat Belling brought in freshman Amanda Burton to add some depth.

On the men’s side, junior Mike Lynch is a solid returner for DWU. Chris Creal, a junior from Omaha, Neb., joins the Tigers after transferring from Dana College. Senior Tanner LaValliere, junior Alan Stuber and sophomore David Elliott will also compete along with freshmen Jared Fields, Andrew Hernandez and Brandon Krien.