Jenkins leads RedStorm men with record time, runner-up finish at IWU

Rio Grande Sports Information
     MARION, Ind. - Tyler Jenkins opened his senior season by setting a new school record time and posting a second place finish, leading the University of Rio Grande men's cross country team to an eighth-place showing in the Indiana Wesleyan University Twilight Invitational, Friday evening, at the IWU Cross Country Course.
     Jenkins, a native of Barnesville, Ohio, finished the 8k course in a time of 24:30, just under five seconds slower than race winner Drew Hogan of Goshen (Ind.) College.
     His time surpassed the previous school record of 24:33, which he established on Sept. 20, 2024 at the All-Ohio Championship.
     As a team, the 25th-ranked RedStorm finished eighth in a field chock full of ranked teams with 196 points.
     Rio actually tied rival Shawnee State for seventh place, but lost the tiebreaker.
     Host Indiana Wesleyan University took the team title with 42 points, while Taylor (Ind.) University was second with 81 points and Marian (Ind.) University was third with 110 points.
     "Every team that finished ahead of us were ahead of us in the first national poll," said Rio head coach Matt Paxton. "We ran faster than last year. We opened up later and ran this as a rust buster. I think we've got a chance to be very good this year. We had lots of young guys learning today."
     Also representing the RedStorm was sophomore Ryder Crawford (Owensville, OH), who was 35th in the field of 302 runners after crossing in a time of 25:33; junior Kasy Science (Marietta, OH), who was 48th with a mark of 25:52; senior Mugisha Pomossene (Dayton, OH), who placed 49th in a time of 25:53; sophomore Anton Meinlschmidt (Weibeyoke, Germany), who was 80th after crossing in 26:17; freshman Moritz Siegel, who placed 81st with mark of 26:18; junior Ashton Beverly (Chillicothe, OH), who was 88th in a time of 26:25; senior Carter Lipscomb, who grabbed 90th place after crossing in 26:26; freshman Micah Balsmeyer, whose time of 26:40 was good enough for 100th place; sophomore John Young (Leroy, OH), who finished 107th with a time of 26:47; freshman Nathan Ward, who was 123rd with a time of 27:00; freshman AbDoul Bah, who crossed in 27:02 for 125th place; freshman Ian Kohls, who was 156th after crossing in 27:25; sophomore David van Kuik (Utrecht, The Netherlands), who was 187th in a time of 27:47; junior Zach Whitley (Wheelersburg, OH), who was 192nd after crossing in 27:50; freshman Josh Alexander, whose mark of 27:50 was good for 193rd place; sophomore Jacob Faught (Georgetown, OH), who was 195th in a time of 27:51; junior JJ Larue (Chillicothe, OH), who was 204th with a time of 28:04; freshman Brody King, who placed 221st in a time of 28:31; freshman Gage Renison, who was 231st in a mark of 28:48; sophomore Caleb Hines (Chillicothe, OH), who was 233rd after posting a time of 28:49; freshman Jaxson Immell, who placed 236th after crossing in 28:54; freshman Tyler Hill, who was 253rd with a time of 29:34; freshman A'Ziah Jenkins, who finished 254th at 29:34; junior Jayden Dunlap (Gallipolis, OH), who took 275th place at 30:18; and sophomore Wyatt Webb (Gallipolis, OH), who was 295th in a time of 32:43.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Friday, Sept. 19 when it hosts the annual Patty Forgey Invitational.