WAVERLY, Iowa – For their second race in a row, the Hamline cross country duo of Fernando Benitez and Frank Gustafson put together two top-10 performances. This time, however, their impressive finishes came at the NCAA Central Region Meet in Waverly, Iowa.
 
It was Benitez who would finish the 8k course first for the Pipers, coming across the finish line in 25:49.2. Teammate Gustafson finished only a second behind with a time of 25:50.5. Their performances earned them a spot on the All-Region team, as well as a chance to compete at the NCAA Championship meet in Louisville, Kentucky that will take place next weekend.
 
As a team, HU finished in 12^th of 28 teams, with a score of 293. The 12^th-place finish is five spots ahead of where they finished in the regional meet last season.
 
After Gustafson, it was Ben Roen who was next in for Hamline, finishing 84^th with a time of 27:31.0. Close behind Roen was Nehemiah Gaim who placed 89^th, completing the course in 27:35.0. Rounding out the scoring for the Pipers was Aric Brodie, finishing in 27:52.8 to place 102^nd.
 
Wartburg won the event with a score of 52 and Carleton came in a close second place, with a score of 56.

Final results from the meet can be found here.