Small but mighty: five-man team looks to compete

Sep. 7—The Spartans brought in a freshman runner from Texas to round out their small but competitive five-man squad.

Daemon Rodriguez comes to the team after a summer of training.

"I would compare what he's done this summer a lot to what Chase (Oates) did last summer before he came in," cross country/track and field director Scott Vicker said. "I don't know if he'll make quite as much of a jump in that first season as Chase did, but he's looked really good so far. I feel like he's got to be in the best shape of his life."

Oates returns after competing at the NCJAA National Championships in November.

"Chase will be kind of the leader for us coming off of a really good freshman year and had a really good summer of work so I expect big things with him," Vicker said. "Michael (Mayer) was a really solid number two for us last year and really came on well at the end of cross country season. Hopefully he can pick up right where he left off at the end of last year."

Completing the team are sophomores Jonathan Hackett and Kyle Sanders. Hackett returns after last season, but this is Sanders' first year competing with the Spartans.

This season, the Spartans moved from Division I to Division II, and the college will host the Regional XI Championships Oct. 27 where Oates is the top projected returner.

"I'd like to see him compete for a regional championship individually on our home course here at the end of the fall," Vicker said. "I know some of the other division two teams have brought in some strong runners for this fall, but I still think that he will be right there and have a strong chance at winning an individual championship."

Vicker said spectators can look forward to the event.

"You're going to have two of the best cross country programs in the country in Iowa Western and Iowa Central competing here," he said. "There's going to be a lot of strong competition here, and it's going to be a fun day of races."

Vicker is hoping for big things with the close-knit team.

"I feel like we'll have a really competitive three who will be able to mix it up individually, and it will depend on how well Hackett and Kyle can come along will determine how well the team will do," he explained. "It's a tough schedule, we see a lot of really strong competition. If you want to run well, you've got to be prepared on race day. I think that's something that Chase learned really early as a freshman was how to handle that and he did a really good job with it. I would expect him to show those newer guys what it takes to prepare well to be successful."

Bill Buxton Invite

INDIANOLA — Oates started the 2023 cross country season off with a bang Friday evening, leading the Southwestern Community College men to a third-place finish at the Bill Buxton Invitational.

Returner Chase Oates led the Spartans with a third place finish in 19:18.7, stopping Simpson College from a perfect score.

The sophomore from Columbia Heights, Minnesota, finished third overall in the men's 6K with a time of 19:18.7, finishing behind a pair of Simpson College seniors. Oates' time was a 1 minute, 12 second improvement over his time on the same course last year.

"Chase ran such a smart race. He got out fast, but stayed under control, and then was able to move up in the pack throughout the race," Vicker said. "He was absolutely flying in the last mile of the race, and moved up from seventh to third. If the race had been any longer than 6K, he would have caught second place. This was a perfect start to the season for Chase, and it showed off all the hard work he has put in over the summer and the start of the fall."

Oates came through the 2-mile mark at 10:33, and covered the final 1.75 miles of the race at 5-flat pace. His 5K split of 16:05 was only 6 seconds short of his PR from the previous indoor track season of 15:59.

Official 6K records have not been kept, but Vicker said he believes Oates' time to be the second-fastest in program history, behind Walter Bolingo's 19:13 in 2008. Bolingo went on to become an All-American later that cross country season.

Rodriguez also had a strong start to the season for the Spartans. Rodriguez finished 16th overall with his time of 20:31.3, just 1 second slower than Oates' time as a freshman on this course.

The Midlothian, Texas, native ran a brave race, staying right behind Oates through the first mile and then settling in to run consistent splits the remainder of the race. Rodriguez was just off his mile and 2-mile PRs en route, and ran just under his previous 5K PR en route.

"I have to give Daemon a lot of credit, as it's oftentimes hard to convince freshmen to go out fast like that," Vicker said. "But he had no hesitations about getting out there and mixing it up, and it helped pull him through to a great time. I couldn't have asked for a better start to Daemon's season. This proves that he's in the best shape of his life right now, and I'm excited to see where he goes from here."

Mayer ran an 8-second PR for 6K, finishing 40th in 22:49.4. Sophomores Hackett and Sanders finished 50th and 51st to round out the scoring for the Spartans.

As a team, the Spartans scored 84 points to finish third behind Simpson (18) and DMACC (59). Graceland finished fourth with 91 points.

"Overall, I was very pleased with how this first race went," Vicker said. "Chase and Daemon should both take a lot of confidence from this race moving forward, and for Michael to get a PR was a great start for him, too. Hackett and Kyle both ran really well for their first 6K races."

The Spartans return to action Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Greeno-Dirksen Invite at Mahoney Park Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska. The meet features some of the top JUCO teams in the country, as well as Division I teams, such as Drake, Iowa State, and Wichita State. It will be the first 8K of the season for the Spartans.

Southwestern contributed to this story