SHELBYVILLE, IND. -- The Trine University men's cross country team finished seventh overall at the annual NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional that was hosted by Franklin College at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville, Ind.
The Thunder finished with an overall team score of 268 total points to place seventh out of 38 teams. Calvin (Mich.) College finished as the top team with 56 points and was followed by Otterbein (Ohio) University in second place with 95 points. DePauw University rounded out the top-three schools with 142 points.
Leading the way for Trine junior Villis Vuskalns (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove) who ran a time of 26:07.3 and placed 43rd overall out of 265 total runners. Senior Jonathan Phillips (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer) had the second fastest time and completed the 8k course with a time of 26:17.4.
Sophomore Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) finished two spots behind Phillips after turning in a time of 26:19.0 and was followed by sophomore Noah Acker (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) who finished fourth on the team with a mark of 26:22.1.
Senior Nicholas Zak (St. John, Ind./Hanover Central) came in fifth amongst the Trine competitors after posting a time of 26:29.0.
The final two times for the Thunder were recorded by sophomores Derek Miller (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) and Alex Amaro (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) who had times of 26:55.3 and 26:56.4, respectively.
"The men's team came up just a bit short of qualifying for nationals with a seventh-place finish," said Head Coach Zach Raber. "Our gap time from 1-5 was only 22 seconds but we were a bit far back in the field. Vilis Vuskalns had a really good day to lead the team."
The Thunder will wrap-up their 2018 season with the conclusion of the Regional Meet.