ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's cross country team enters the 2018 season eighth in the Great Lakes Region in the preseason regional rankings by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
[2018 Preseason Regional Rankings]
Trine is one of three Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association schools to be ranked going into the season. Calvin (Mich.) College was ranked as the top team in the region as well as the 22nd ranked team in NCAA Division III. Albion (Mich.) College was picked third in the region and is 33rd nationally.
The Thunder ended the 2017 season ranked eighth in the region and placed eighth as a team in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet.
The USTFCCCA Regional Cross Country Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each respective region. The regional representative is tasked with weighing returning teams' strength with current season results (if applicable) in determining a predicting finishing order at the NCAA Regional Championships.
Trine returns several runners from last season, including senior Nicholas Zak (St. John, Ind./Hanover Central) who earned All-Region honors last fall after finishing 32nd overall at the regional meet. Also returning, is sophomore Levi Neuzerling (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) who earned second-team All-MIAA honors in his first season with the program.
The Trine men's cross country team begins the season at the Wittenberg University Invitational on Aug. 31 in Springfield, Ohio. The men's race is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.