Raider Men Race Through Wind and Rain at Wayne State

WAYNE, Neb. – The first time at the Wayne State Classic was not the best environment for a cross country race, but the men battled through. Wind gusts of 20mph, off and on rain, rolling hills throughout the course, and stiff competition made the Raiders buckle down and get to work. For the newcomers to the team, this would be only their second time racing the 8k distance.

"Obviously the conditions were not ideal, but when are they ever?" said Scott Bahrke. "If we only wait to race when its perfect then we'll never get to compete. I'm proud of how our men handled the conditions and the competitors. A bunch of guys finishing right next to each other showed the comradery on the team and the men pushing each other through it all."

And push each other they did. Ben VanDeBerg would lead the men through the course, with senior Alex Nonhof racing like a true veteran, and jumping the rankings to second on the team. Trey Engelmann would come in third for the Raiders in a sprint finish. Only a second behind would be Ashton Hughes, and 2 seconds behind him would be Carson Engbers. Braden Brough would just edge out Tommy Tracy for 6^th place on the team, with Tracy in 7^th mere seconds behind.

RAIDER RESULTS

Ben VanDeBerg 27:35 – 7^th
Alex Nonhof 28:44 – 21^st
Trey Engelmann 29:41 – 34^th
Ashton Hughes 29:42 – 35^th
Carson Engbers 29:44 – 36^th
Braeden Brough 30:23 – 46^th
Tommy Tracy 30:28 – 47^th
Jacob Shaffer 30:45 – 49^th
Brayden Dirks 31:31 – 59^th

Up Next: The Raider men and women will take another week off from racing to come back on October 7. They'll be back for the Briar Cliff Invite in Sioux City, also the site of the Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships in November.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

Braeden Brough: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Brayden Dirks: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Trey Engelmann: 6' 1"; Junior

Alex Nonhof: 5' 5"; Senior

Tommy Tracy: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Ben VanDeBerg: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Carson Engbers: 6' 0"; Freshman

Ashton Hughes: 5' 7"; Freshman

Jacob Shaffer: 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Braeden Brough
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Brayden Dirks
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Trey Engelmann
: 6' 1"; Junior

Alex Nonhof
: 5' 5"; Senior

Tommy Tracy
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Ben VanDeBerg
: 6' 1"; Sophomore

Carson Engbers
: 6' 0"; Freshman

Ashton Hughes
: 5' 7"; Freshman

Jacob Shaffer
: 6' 1"; Freshman