The OLLU men’s cross-country squad finished in 33rd place out of 36 teams at the 68th Annual NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championship at Fort Vancouver Historical Course on Nov. 17.
The Saints totaled a team score of 894 points in the 8k with a total time of 2:17.47 and an average of 27:33. Kruz Malesich was the Saints’ top finisher with a 191st place finish of 328 runners.
The OLLU men’s cross-country has won its eighth Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Cross-Country Championship on Nov. 3 at Texarkana, Texas.
Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “The guys executed their race plans well. We based our plans on positioning and racing the second half, and we did well. The men will need their best performance of the year at nationals to attempt a top-20 team finish.”
The men’s team marked 24 points to win the 8K. The Saints were followed by Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) with 41 points and Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) with 78 points.
Kruz Malesich placed second for the Saints with a time of 26:17, followed by Vincent Garza with a time of 26:26 for third place, JoseCarlos Hernandez with a time of 26:29 for fourth place, Sebastian Moreno with a time of 26:49 for seventh place, Anthony Perez with a time of 27:00 for eighth place, Hector Puente with a time of 27:08 for ninth place and Jose Saucedo with a time of 27:35 for 10th place.
All made the All-Conference Team and will participate in the 68th Annual NAIA Men’s Cross-Country National Championships Nov. 17 in Vancouver, Wash.
