NEWTON, N.C. – The Anderson University men's cross-country team finished in third place at the South Atlantic Conference championship on Saturday (Oct. 21) at Southside Park in Newton, N.C. with a total team score of 110 points.
The No.2 nationally ranked Wingate Bulldogs won the conference championship with a team total of 20 points. The Bulldogs had six of the top eight finishers, including the top two as Jakob Rettschlag and Luis Hernandez-Perez finished first and second. Catawba took second place with 59 points, with Lenoir-Rhyne and Lincoln Memorial rounding out the top-five.
Daniel Similton led the way for the Trojans by finishing in 12th place with a time of 23:37.01. Freshman Jake Dentler impressed as he finished 22nd in his first collegiate postseason meet at a pace of 24:15.06. Ty Nelson and David Williams ran step-by-step to take 28th (24:27.14) and 29th (24:35.64), respectively.
Sean McAdams and Dylan Lego both finished in the top-35 with times of 24:52.70 and 24:53.47 for 34th and 35th place, respectively. Jonathan Roberts (25:31.01) and Noah Stump (25:17.88) finished together as well for 43rd and 44th place. Jack Barrett rounded things out for the Trojans at a pace of 25:38.64 to take 51st.
"Today was not one of our best days out on the course for both teams," said coach Kevin Eagle. "We just have to learn from the mistakes we made today and learn to challenge ourselves more in the middle of the race when it gets tough. We have two weeks to change our mindset and push ourselves to see how good we truly are."
The Trojans will be back in action on November 4th for the NCAA Southeast Regional in Oakwood, Georgia. The top three teams will clinch a spot in the NCAA National Championship. More information can be found at autrojans.com as the meet approaches.
