The Rock men’s cross-country team placed third in its first official race of the season at Edinboro University Saturday morning.
The men attended the Doug Watt’s Distance Gala held on the Doug Watt’s Cross Country Course, as a total of nine teams in attendance and 81 runners present.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania took the win with a total of 30 points.
Edinboro and Slippery Rock followed closely behind with 49 and 61 points. Lake Erie and Bethany College rounded out the top five teams with 108 and 140 points.
“For our first time going to this meet, I’d say we did really well,” senior Rock runner Steve Green said. “Everyone was happy about their performance and we are excited about how close we were to the top teams.”
Green was the first SRU runner to cross the finish line Saturday. He had an impressive race taking eighth overall with a time of 26:15 on the 8,000 kilometer course.
Seniors Theo Reynolds and Charlie Frank followed behind Green taking 10th and 12th place. The men covered the course in 26:28 and 26:31 respectively.
Sophomore Jeffery Henderson and senior Ryan Thompson rounded out the Rock’s top five runners in 14th and 18th place with times of 26:35 and 26:52. Runners who also competed at the event included freshman Andrew Maxwell, junior Stephen Shephard, senior Connor MacKelvey and freshman Josh Aultz.
“I am excited for the potential of our men’s team,” Slippery Rock head coach John Papa said. “If we can stay healthy and continue to improve we should have a strong season.”
The Green and White compete next on Friday, Sept. 18 on their home course at Cooper’s Lake Campground at the SRU Invitational.
