Bass Paves the Way for Spartan Harriers at Grinnell Invite
Sep 12, 2015
2015 Les Duke Men
GRINNELL, Iowa - Sophomore Alec Bass placed fifth overall with a 26:17 and led the Spartans to a fifth-place performance at Grinnell's Les Duke Invite on Saturday morning.
The Spartans collected 137 points in fifth-place as Wartburg (24 points) took home the victory followed by host Grinnell College with 65 points.
In only his second 8k of the season, Bass tied a career best of 26:17 that was also the second-fastest 8k time in school history. Overall, seven different Spartans set a personal best on the quick, flat Grinnell course.
Veteran Payton Nevills follwed up Bass with a 13th place performance with a season-best time of 26:37. Sophomore Jack Lindsay (38th overall) and junior Jon Berland (39th) both finished in a time of 28:45 and freshman Riley Holst rounded out the Spartan scoring with a 42nd place showing in a time of 29:00. Freshman Hunter Reifschneider (47th, 29:13) and sophomore Ames Helzer (50th, 29:16) completed the Spartan Varsity.
"As tough as last week was weather-wise, today was almost ideal," said Head Coach Geoff Gundlach. "A lot of our personal bests today are a result of good consistent training alongside favorable conditions. We are really pleased with our teams' performances and their enthusiasm for one another today. Looking forward to our upcoming schedule and working hard to keep improving."
The Spartans look to improve as they head out to the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational hosted by Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. on Friday, September 25 at 5:00 p.m.
