TERRE HAUTE, Ind.-- The Trine men's cross country team placed 10th in the Small States division of the Indiana Intercollegiate, held Friday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Thunder runners earned the team 297 points with their combined performance. Freshman Nicholas Zak (St. John, Ind./Hanover Central) ran a time of 28:12 on the 8K course to lead the Thunder. His performance earned the team 37 points. Zak averaged a 5:40-mile pace. Trine was one of 19 teams to compete in the Small States division of the race, which encompasses schools from NCAA Divisions II and III as well as NAIA. A total of 150 runners competed in the race.
Finishing just behind Zak and second among Thunder runners was Collin Elek (Osceola, Ind./Penn), who ran a time of 28:26. Elek's performance earned the team 45 points.
Aaron Mast (Ligonier, Ind./West Noble) and Austin Ganger (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) also ran sub-30 minute times for Trine. Mast's time of 29:14 was third among Thunder runners and earned the team 65 points. Ganger ran a time of 29:42 to earn the team 73 points.
Garrett Benedict (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) rounded out Trine's top five, finishing in an even-30 minutes.
Trine's top five runners combined to average a time of 29:06. That translates to an average mile of 5:51.
The Thunder will compete in the MIAA Jamboree at Hope next Saturday, Sept. 26.