KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— The Montreat College men's cross country team competed bright and early Friday morning, running at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville, Tenn. Competing at the regional meet hosted by Tennessee Wesleyan University, the Cavaliers placed fourth out of 20 squads, trailing only a trio of ranked programs.
 
Overall, the Cavs' scorers accumulated 133 points, 37 more than No. 23-rated University of Rio Grande and 24 fewer than (RV) University of Tennessee Southern.
 
Ryan Stade paced Montreat on Friday with a near personal-best 8k effort. The Marysville, Kan. native landed inside the top 10 thanks to his 24:39.88 showing. Good for ninth out of 209 finishers, Stade came within two seconds of breaking his own collegiate-best mark.
 
Two other Cavaliers registered top-25 performances. Brock Lauer crushed his personal best by 42 seconds, needing only 24:51.30 to cross the finish line in 17^th. Ronald Way ended five spots back in 22^nd, completing his 8k in 25:00.51.
 
Elijah Eppley and Hugo Petat-Hemono joined their teammates on the other side of the finish line after delivering their collegiate-best showings. The pair concluded the race in 49^th and 52^nd, respectively. Eppley wrapped up his effort in 25:42.04, while Petat-Hemono finished just a few seconds back in 25:46.52.
 
Montreat's final two placers also ended within a few spots of each other. Junior Hunter Smathers utilized a personal-best time of 26:21.09 to finish 72^nd. Matthew Morin also recorded his top collegiate time, closing out the meet for the Cavs with a 26:24.43 race, good for 75^th.

"Great day overall for our men," said head coach Rylan Hincher. "We needed some guys to step up without Philip Riddle in the lineup today, and Hugo ran an incredible debut. Brock Lauer smashed his personal best with a huge performance. Smathers and Morin rounded out our seven with massive personal bests as well. Great momentum heading into conference in two weeks."
 
For a look at results from the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, click here.
 
The Montreat College men's cross country team returns to Sequoyah Park on Friday, Nov. 7 for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Cross Country Championships.