SIOUX FALLS, SD – Hoping to build on their third place finish at the conference championships two weeks ago that earned the squad regional recognition, the University of Mary men's cross country team placed tenth at the 2016 NCAA Central Region championships. The youthful Marauders squad improved one slot over last season.
As he has the previous couple meets,
Derek Myers again paced the Marauders efforts. The sophomore from Gillette, WY, finished the 10,000 meter race in a time of 32:24.80.
Not far behind was junior
Kevin Carpenter in 51
st place after traversing the Yankton Trail Park course in 32.42.44.
Steven Gordon, the lone senior on the team, was 64
th in 32:51.90.
Sophomore
Teegan Olson and junior
Tyler Erickson rounded out the Marauders scoring after placing 83
rd and 8
th, respectively, with marks of 33:17.87 and 33:18.10.
Two freshmen also experienced their first NCAA regional meet,
Creighton Barrett (118
th in 33:55.54) and
Harrison Bentzel (146
th in 35:28.62).
"The University of Mary fought a hard battle today at the 2016 Central Region Cross Country Championships," said Marauders Head Coach
Dennis Newell. "A 7
th-ranked team in the region entering the race, they ended their 2016 season in 10th place out of 25 men's teams and fourth among Northern Sun squads. We are a young team and will move forward from here. We can build upon this fall for a brighter future. The sun will still come up tomorrow."
Ranked 7
th in the USTFCCCA regional ranking before the meet, the Marauders posted 316 team points. Augustana won the championship with 65 points, just ahead of Missouri Southern's 68 points. Northwest Missouri State placed third and MSU Moorhead placed fourth and claimed the final team spot from the region to the NCAA championships.
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