Pilots make cross country debut in South Dakota

The Providence Pilots road to a potential national championship began in South Dakota, as the school attended their first-ever cross country meet.

Nine runners competed at the Augustana Twilight 5K race in Sioux Falls, battling 30 degree temperatrues despite start times near 10 p.m. Sept. 4.

Amariah Zult was the best women’s finisher for the school at 22:14, with Owen Eisbrenner finishing in 18:22 to lead the way for the team on the men’s side.

“There were also multiple personal bests across the team, which made for an especially encouraging start to the season given the conditions,” a social media post from the Pilots reads.

“Beyond the times, it was a pretty significant weekend for the program — our first race, our first time wearing the Providence Pilots XC singlet in competition, and the beginning of what we’re excited to build together.”

The top finishers for the event was University of South Dakota’s Geneva Timmerman (women’s) and Isaac Ochoa (men’s).

The NCAA Division 1 school topped the team standings in the women’s event as well with an average finish of 17:29. South Dakota State won the men’s event, with four of the top 10 finishers. All seven of the school’s runners finished in the top 20 of the 478-runner event with an average time of 14:42.

Providence finished the men’s team meet in last place, with an average time of 19:41. The Pilots were the only Canadian school to attend the meet. The three runners for Providence on the women’s side were not enough to record a result in the team event.

The Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference was approved to compete for a Canadian Colleges Athletic Association cross country national championship beginning this season.