The Shadow
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (VR) — Seven WVU Tech men turned in collegiate-best 8K times Friday at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, highlighting another strong day of improvement for the Golden Bears with the conference championship next on the schedule.
Evan McElwayne lowered his career best for the second consecutive meet, finishing in 25:52.49 and moving to No. 4 on WVU Tech’s all-time 8K list. Jan Fasius Ponsa climbed to No. 12 on the program’s all-time list, while Evan Bishop joined the record book at No. 22.
The Golden Bear men finished 18th among 24 scoring teams with 500 points.
Women’s race
Lexie Wikel once again led WVU Tech in the women’s 5K, crossing the line in 21:10.56 to finish 111th overall. Her time came within 2.76 seconds of the collegiate best she set at the Royals Cross Country Challenge two weeks earlier.
Peyton Asbury followed with a season-best 24:56.84, placing 173rd. Asbury cut 1 minute, 13.26 seconds from her 5K time at the Royals Challenge.
With two Golden Bears competing, WVU Tech did not record a team score.
Men’s race
McElwayne led the Golden Bears for the fourth time this season, placing 56th overall in 25:52.49. The junior took another 32.11 seconds off the career best he set at the Royals Challenge and jumped from No. 7 to No. 4 on Tech’s all-time 8K list.
Only Dan Nehnevaj, Michael Ecker-Randolph and Brandon Hudson have run faster 8Ks in program history.
Ponsa continued his own climb through the record book with a 27:24.98 finish. The sophomore placed 132nd overall, improved his collegiate best by 8.92 seconds and moved to No. 12 on WVU Tech’s all-time 8K list.
Freshman Evan Bishop added another record-book performance, crossing 167th in 28:17.24. Bishop took 56.86 seconds off his previous best and moved into the program’s all-time 8K list at No. 22.
Maddox Wickline made it four consecutive Golden Bear finishers with career bests. The freshman placed 189th with a time of 29:06.00, trimming 5.70 seconds from the mark he posted two weeks earlier in Charlotte.
Tristan Toler followed in 198th, turning in one of Tech’s biggest improvements of the day. His 29:23.49 was 1 minute, 27.41 seconds faster than his previous collegiate best.
Freshman David Northrop continued that trend with a major breakthrough of his own. Northrop finished 213th in 30:40.00, lowering his previous collegiate-best 8K by 2 minutes, 3.10 seconds, the largest career-best improvement among the Golden Bears on Friday.
Eli Jordan crossed next for Tech, placing 215th in 30:47.50.
Savva Frank rounded out the Golden Bear finishers in 224th, posting a collegiate-best 31:26.99. The freshman improved his previous best by 31.11 seconds.
By the end of the race, seven of WVU Tech’s eight finishers had recorded collegiate-best 8K times. McElwayne, Ponsa and Bishop also left Knoxville with spots among the top 22 on WVU Tech’s all-time 8K list.
