Lions race to big finish against over 100 teams at the Louisville Cross Country Classic
The Mars Hill men's cross country team raced to a big finish against 100+ collegiate teams across all NCAA and other divisions at the extremely competitive Louisville Cross Country Classic.
LOUISVILLE, K.Y. - The Mars Hill men's cross country team finished 55th of 102 collegiate teams across all NCAA and other divisions at the extremely competitive Louisville Cross Country Classic, hosted at E.P Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday morning over the 8k race distance.
In their first overnight trip of the season, the Mars Hill men's cross country team faced their strongest competition and largest field of racers with over hundreds of runners.
Sean Sanchez finished 59th place with a time of 26:06 which was nearly a minute faster than his time on the same course one year ago. DJ Chadwell had a breakthrough 8k race and finished in a time of 26:33 and was closely followed by Matthew O'Connor in a time of 26:39 which was a minute and thirteen seconds faster than last year. Wrapping up the top five scoring positions for the Lions were Justin Owens in a time of 26:54 and Brandon McNulty in a time of 26:59.
Additionally, freshman DJ Chadwell made his first entry on the Mars Hill Men's Cross Country 8k Freshman Leaderboard as the 15th fastest freshman in Mars Hill history.
Thoughts from Coach Benge:
"With a large field of 35 teams in our race, the men got to experience what collegiate cross country racing is all about! The men ran as a very strong pack for 4k and then battled hard to the finish. The men's team average was 26:38 which is only 2 seconds off from the end of season team average from last year so that is quite exciting. With only one regular season race remaining, the men will look to finish the regular season strong next week with a competitive field including many teams from our region and prepare for our conference and regional championships!"
To view the full list of times please click here.
The Mars Hill men's cross country team next competes in their last regular season race of the season at the Royals XC Challenge on Friday, October 10th. That race is being held in Charlotte, North Carolina and is set for a 5:45 p.m. start.
