SPRINGFIELD, OHIO -- The Trine University men's cross country team claimed first through fifth place individually en route to winning the Wittenberg University Invitational in Springfield, Ohio.
Trine finished with a team score of 15 points, claiming 10 of the top 15 individual times. Host school Wittenberg was escond with 54 points and the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) rounded out the top three schools with 72 points.
Sophomore Derek Miller (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) led the Thunder through the 5K course with a top overal time of 16:08.4 out of 70 total competitors. Nicholas Zak (St. John, Ind./Hanover Central) was second overall and second on the team, crossing the finish line in a time of 16:19.7. Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb), Jonathan Phillips (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer), and Neil O'Brien (Whiteland, Ind./Roncalli) finished third, fourth, and fifth with marks of 16:22.4, 16:31.7 and 16:34.4 respectively.
Five more athletes finished in the top-15 as the Thunder had a total of 23 runners compete in the field. Trine took 10th-14th place with Villis Vuskalns (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove) coming in 10th place in a time of 17:03.3. Alex Amaro (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) was next to cross the finish line in 11th place in a time of 17:04.2 and Kody Snyder (Burnettsville, Ind./Twin Lakes) finished a little over nine seconds back with a time of 17:16.7. Harrison Korkos (Rochester, Ind./Rochester) and Levi Neuzerling (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) completed the top-15 finishes for Trine in 13th and 14th place with times of 17:17.4 and 17:22.5 respectively.
The men's cross country team will next travel to North Manchester, Ind. for the Manchester University Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 15. The men's race is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.