LANSING, Mich. – The Trine University men's cross country team got a preview of the NCAA Division III National Championship course on Saturday in the NCAA Pre-National Championship event at Forest Akers Golf Course. The Thunder placed 15th overall on the men's side out of a stout field of 36. They were fifth out of teams participating out of the Great Lakes Region.
Leading the way for Trine was sophomore Joseph Packard. He completed the 8K race with a time of 25:53.4, good for 57th place overall. Freshman Ryan Hoopingarner was the second-best finishing Thunder runner at 26:04.5, good for 71st place. Both team members put together career-best marks in 8K cross country races.
Senior Noah Acker finished the event with a time of 26:26.4, good enough for 99th on the leaderboard. Senior Jacob Myers and sophomore Eli Lantz followed closely behind in 101st and 110th, respectively. Myers ran a 26:27.5 and Lantz a 26:33.7, just seconds off his previous best.
Next in line for the Thunder were junior Zachary Brickler (26:53.8) and senior Holden Martin (26:59.8).
In two weeks, Trine takes the course at Oberlin College for the Inter-Regional Rumble on October 15.
