Men
The men’s cross country team didn’t place at the NAIA 8k race, but – despite this – good came out of this race. Sophomore Abel Hernandez earned NAIA All-American honors after he ran a time of 25:10:01 to put him in 23 place at the meet overall.
Hernandez wasn’t the only one as Junior Alan Guzman and Senior Janis Pastars also competed admirably. Guzman ran a time of 25:51:01 to put him in 60 place, while Pastars finished in 109 place with a running time of 26:19:06.
All three men rose to the occasion and performed at their hardest, and their placing in the race is even more impressive when one considers that there were 326 total NAIA men’s runners at the meet.
Overall, this is a moment to be proud of for the men’s cross country team as they had a fantastic that will only get better with the phenomenal young talent they have on their team.
Women
The women enjoyed a bit more success than the men by placing at the event 22 out of 38 other teams. Sophomore Ellie Willging had a great outing as she placed 23 in the 5k race with an 18:05:01 finish.
Not only this, but Willging was honored for her excellent efforts this season as she received NAIA All-American honors. Also having impressive finishes for SXU was junior Nicole Maier and sophomore Sierra Downey. Maier finished with a running time of 19:12:30 to put her in 126th place, while Downey placed 134 with a running time of 19:17:04.
While these don’t sound like the most impressive finishes, they as heck are when one considers that there were 321 total racers at the running meet so these finishes are more than impressive.
The team also has a lot to be proud of as they finished two spots higher than their national rank of 24.
The future is bright for this team as they continuously improved throughout this season, and will only get better next season. Keep it locked here at The Xavierite for your daily news and continuous sports updates.
Kenneth Washington
Deputy Sports Editor