LOUISVILLE, KY. -- The Trine University men's cross country team had four individuals place in the top-50 as the Thunder finished fourth overall as a team at the University of Louisville Classic in Lousville, Ky.
Trine posted a team score of 189 points to place fourth of 21 NCAA Division III and NAIA teams who completed in the "Blue" race. Rhodes (Tenn.) College was first with 89 points and was followed by Lewis-Clark (Idaho) College with 111 points. Columbia (Mo.) College was third at 124 points.
Senior Robert Lewis Duke (Greentown, Ind./Eastern) paced the Thunder with an individual mark of 25:43.59 which was good enough for 12th place out of 189 runners. Freshman Levi Neuzerling (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) followed Duke in 31st place after completing the 8k course in a time of 26:09.40.
Also placing in the top-50 with Duke and Neuzerling, were the duo of senior Collin Elek (Osceola, Ind./Penn) and junior Jonathan Phillips (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer) who finished back-to-back in 46th and 47th place with marks of 26:28.57 and 26:30.53 respectively.
Freshman Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./Dekalb) finished just outside the top-50 in 51st place with a time of 26:34.43. Sophomore Villis Vuskalns (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove) ran a time of 26:47.52 which was the sixth fastest time of the day for Trine and was the 63rd quickest mark overall.
Freshman Derek Miller (Shipsewana, Ind./Westview) completed the list of team score eligible times at 26:52.28 and crossed the finish line in 67th place.
Also competing for Trine were freshman Noah Acker (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble), junior Kody Snyder (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes) and junior Jordan Zamarron (Ionia, Mich./Ionia). Acker broke the top-100 times at 27:21.27 (99th), followed by Snyder who crossed the finish line in a time of 27:26.65 and Zamarron ran a time of 27:39.88.
"We were coming off a tough back-to-back race schedule, so overall I thought our guys ran well," said Head Coach Zach Raber. "I continue to be impressed by our freshmen. Levi and Jack were in our top-five and Derek wasn't too far behind. Now it's up to our upperclassmen to step up and lead the way over the next six weeks."
Trine will next compete in the Inter-Regional Rumble hosted by Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio on Saturday, Oct. 14. The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.