Augustana's cross-country team recorded three top-five finishes in four meets. | Augustana College athletics
Augustana's cross-country team recorded three top-five finishes in four meets. | Augustana College athletics
The Augustana College men’s cross-country team is looking to break away.
“We are kind of inexperienced at the higher competitive level,” coach Paul Olson told the Rock Island Today. “Last year these guys ran kind of in the middle of the pack, but this year we’re learning and growing in confidence and running in the front of the pack, and I am just excited about the progress they’ve made. I think by the end of the year we are going to be a very good team.”
The Vikings have been led by Brandon Wilkerson, who has helped them to three top-five finishes in their first four meets of the year. Wilkerson took first place at the Western Illinois Invitational and helped Augustana claim first place in the team competition as well.
“I think the highlight is the high-level racing that Brandon has done,” Olson said. “He is still inexperienced at this level. He is a great runner and is a conference champ, but that’s at 3,000 meters, not 8,000. That’s a 10-minute race compared to a 25-minute race, but he has really made the step up. I think he will be contesting to be an All-American.”
Olson said the team has also seen two other runners step up.
“Rob Williams has made a huge jump from where he has been to where he is now,” Olson said. “That’s just come with maturity. He is a junior now and has come a long way. Rob and Kevin Claus are both becoming front runners on the team, and that is a really exciting thing.”
Augustana turned in a solid team performance in its second meet as well, finishing in second place at the Luther All-American Invitational in Decorah, Iowa. Three Vikings finished in the top 10, with Wilkerson finishing in second overall. Mitchell Johnson came in seventh place, and Kevin Claus took ninth place.
The Vikings finished in sixth at the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational, where Wilkerson claimed third place and was once again Augustana’s top finisher. North Central College won the meet and is currently the top team in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Olson said he hopes the Vikings will be able to secure second place in the conference.
“No one is going to beat North Central in our conference,” he said. “They are No. 1 in the country and last year walked away with the national championship. They had five guys in the top 25 in the nation, and they’re that good again this year. There are some real formidable teams in our conference, and we want to be second and be in the hunt for the national qualifying meet.”
The regular season will wrap up on Nov. 3 with the Luther JV Cup in Iowa. The NCAA Division III Midwest Regional meet will be held in Rock Island at the Saukie Golf Course, and the Division III National Championships will be held in Elsah, Illinois.