KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Montreat College men's cross country team competed early Friday morning at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge in Knoxville, Tenn., hosted by Tennessee Wesleyan University. Facing a competitive 8k field featuring four nationally-ranked squads, including the nation's No. 1 team, the Cavaliers placed fifth out of 24 scoring programs.
Montreat finished with 131 points, ending 51 points ahead of Indiana University Kokomo and just five points behind No. 16 University of Rio Grande. Top-ranked University of the Cumberlands claimed the team title with 22 points.
Ryan Stade led the Cavs with a 10th-place finish among 249 competitors, setting a personal record of 24:16.37. Newcomer Angel Cruz followed in 18th, establishing a personal best and the program's freshman record with a time of 24:46.24. Ronald Way rounded out Montreat's top three, finishing 26th in 25:08.49.
Elijah Eppley placed 39th overall in 25:25.23, shaving nearly 17 seconds off his previous personal best. Johann Brink completed the scoring five with a 61st-place finish in 26:01.48, improving his previous best by more than 17 seconds.
Hunter Smathers also recorded a personal best, tying for 76th in 26:10.73. Freshman Aidan Barkaway added another career record, finishing 180th with a time of 28:47.00.
"Great day for our men's program," said Head Coach Rylan Hincher. "This was better than our outing here a year ago. There were great performances across the board today, but really big ones by our two freshmen in Cruz and Brink. Finishing within five points of No. 16 Rio Grande was a great indication of how good we can be in a few weeks out in Vancouver."
For full results from the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, click here.
Montreat will return to action on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Cross Country Championships at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville, Tenn. The meet is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.
