Allen Bonnesen blasted an 18th-place finish at the Gans Creek Classic last Friday, rocking a 4:40 pace per mile for the champion Arkansas Razorbacks. He was the No. 4 scorer, too, making it look like his transfer from Iowa State this summer to follow coach Cale Wallace was one of the smartest moves of the year. This redshirt junior is already a huge factor for the 16th-ranked Arkansas squad, and the season has only just begun.
Bonnesen’s Gold Medal Runs Are Just the Start
Dude is on fire, no kidding. Bonnesen, formerly of Danville-New London High School, covered that 8-kilometer course in Columbia, Missouri, in a blistering 23:15.9. Arkansas locked up the team title with 69 points, holding off Tennessee by six points, and Bonnesen’s performance was absolutely critical. This isn’t some flash-in-the-pan moment, either. Back on August 1, he already snagged a gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the FISU America Games in Lima, Peru. If this is his early season form, the rest of the league needs to watch out. He’s a game-changer for Arkansas.
Ex-Iowa Talent Lighting Up Courses Across the Nation
The Gans Creek Classic wasn’t just about Bonnesen, though. A bunch of other former Iowa high school stars delivered some seriously impressive results. South Dakota junior Natnael Kifle, a Sioux City North grad, set a new best of 23:51.3 for 49th overall, leading his Coyotes as the No. 2 runner on their 18th-place team. Then there’s Aidan Ramsey, the redshirt senior from Dallas Center-Grimes and Drake, who had a huge breakthrough for Wyoming, claiming 52nd place with a new 8K best of 23:53.7. He was the No. 2 runner for the Cowboys, who finished 13th. South Dakota State landed 11th in the team competition, with redshirt senior Will Lohr hitting a new personal record of 23:59.3 as their No. 3 runner in 66th. Iowa junior Luke Knepp was the No. 2 scorer for 24th-place Iowa, with his teammate Will Ryan close behind. Northern Iowa’s Chase Lauman ran a new PR of 24:39.2, and there were strong showings from Slader Buckheister, Carson Owens, Levi Hill, Elias Arbuckle, Reed Robbins, AJ Willey, and Owen Wolfe. Arkansas senior Ernest Cheruiyot actually won the whole thing in 22:32.8. What a race!
Shewaye Johnson Cracks a College Best for North Dakota
It wasn’t just the men throwing down, either. In the women’s 6K Gold Invite competition, Shewaye Johnson, a senior and former Ballard (Huxley) runner who transferred to North Dakota from Texas A&M, came in as the No. 2 finisher for fourth-place North Dakota. She blasted the 3.7-mile distance in a new college best of 20:11.8, averaging a sick 5:25 per mile. North Dakota scored 169 points for their impressive fourth-place finish, and Johnson was a massive part of that.
With these kinds of performances popping off early in the cross country season, it’s clear these athletes are setting themselves up for something special. Keep an eye on Bonnesen and Johnson, especially, as they push their teams. What’s next for these runners? More personal bests, no doubt, and maybe even a higher national ranking for Arkansas if Bonnesen keeps this up.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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