ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University men's and women's cross-country teams are preparing for the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, IL on Saturday (Oct. 9).
Earlier this week, the men's team was ranked in the United States Track and Field & Cross-Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) national poll for the first time in program history, coming in at No. 30.
"This is a big step forward for our program as we look to become a team to be reckoned with on the national stage," said coach Kevin Eagle. "We have bigger goals than this as a team, but we know that this is the next step in the process."
The Trojans are coming off an impressive win at the Run The Berry XC Festival on Saturday (Oct. 2) as they won the event and had the top-nine individual finishers in the field. Daniel Similton (27:54.8) won the meet as David Mahnke (28:02.3) and Patrick Berlejung (28:07.1) came in second and third, respectively.
The women are also having a great start to their season, as they won the Run The Berry XC Festival too. Finishers 2-14 were all Trojans, with Whitney Hanson leading the way with a time of 21:02.6 in the 5k. Other notable finishers include Olivia Rish in third place (21:02.6) and Faith Nelson in fourth (21:02.8). Elise Matthews was close behind with a time of 21:02.9, coming in fifth place. The women were not ranked in the national poll but received two votes.
It will be a tough field as there will be seven nationally ranked teams on the men's side, and eight on the women's side. Grand Valley State, the number one team in the nation on both sides, will be the team to beat.
Men:
No. 1 Grand Valley State (#1 Midwest)
No. 5 Colorado Christian (#3 South Central)
No. 19 Lewis (#3 Midwest)
No. 22 Biola-California (#4 West)
No. 24 Cal State San Marcos (#5 West)
No. 26 Walsh (#4 Midwest)
No. 30 Anderson (#4 Southeast)
Women:
No. 1 Grand Valley State (#1 Midwest)
No. 18 Walsh (#5 Midwest)
No. 19 Minnesota Duluth (#3 Central)
No. 21 Cal State San Marcos (#4 West)
No. 21 Colorado Christian (#6 South Central)
No. 24 Wayne State-Michigan (#6 Midwest)
No. 26 Saginaw Valley State (#7 Midwest)
No. 27 Biola-California (#5 West)
"The Lewis Crossover meet is the largest Division II meet in the country all year," said coach Kevin Eagle. "As we look to take the next step as a program, this is the type of meet we must compete in. We're excited to compete with the best of them."
The Trojans will be back in action on Saturday (Oct. 9) as they travel to Romeoville, Illinois for the Lewis Crossover. The women will begin at 9:45, while the men are slated for a 10:30 AM start. Results can be found at www.autrojans.com.
