NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Trine University men's cross country team brought home a third place team finish at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships on Friday.
Calvin was able to capture the team title with Brandan Knepper finishing first in the 8K event. Hope finished second, followed by the Thunder in third.
"We ran a really tough race on the men's side today," Head Coach Zach Raber said of the team's performance. "Calvin just had too much firepower up front. We battled well with Hope for much of the race but they had a little more at the end. I was particularly happy with Noah Acker [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble] and Zachary Brickler [Indianapolis, Ind. / Ben Davis] today. They really ran well."
Acker was the top finisher for Trine in 10th with a time of 25:52.0. His performance was good enough to claim Second Team All-Conference honors. Joining him as a Second Team All-Conference recipient was the sophomore, Brickler. Brickler was a few seconds back of Acker in 12th position at 26:05.7.
Other scoring members for Trine included Eli Lantz [Fort Wayne, Ind. / Churubusco], Holden Martin [Indianapolis, Ind. / Scecina Memorial] and Joseph Packard [Kokomo, Ind. / Western]. Lantz placed 17th with a time of 26:27.9, with Martin and Packard just behind in 18th (26:29.1) and 19th (26:31.4).
"We're a very young team, so the future is bright," Raber added postrace.
The next event for the Thunder is the Great Lakes Regional at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville, Indiana. That event takes place on Saturday, November 13.