Lions place first in season opener at Bruins XC Night Classic
The Mars Hill men's cross country team kicked off the season with a strong 1st place showing - placing all five scoring runners in the Top 10 of the Bruins XC night Classic at Bob Jones University.
GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Mars Hill men's cross country team won their opening race, the Bruins XC Night Classic, Friday night in Greenville, South Carolina. The meet was hosted by Bob Jones University. The Lions were led by a trio of freshman in their debut race in the Mars Hill jersey and out of five scoring runners, four were freshman. The men's team finished in first place by nearly 50 points.
Leading the charge was freshman Eli Taylor who placed second overall with a time of 20:36.4, freshman Sean Sanchez in third with a time of 20:41.1, and a charging Sawyer Cripps (also a freshman) hot on his heels in fourth with a time of 20:41.7. Braxton Cummings and freshman Brandon McNulty rounded out the team scoring with strong overall races and incredible finishing speed to move up positions at the end of the race and place in the top ten (sixth and eighth respectively) with times of 20:51.3 and 20:59.9.
Thoughts from Coach Benge:
"We have a very large and strong group of incoming freshman men and it was exciting to see them race together for the first time this evening mixed in with key returning runners. We executed strong pack running for the majority of the race with a small planned surge at the end. This team mentality will guide us throughout the season in workouts and races. With freshmen filling four of the top five scoring positions, the future of the team is very strong. There are big things happening on the Hill!"
To view the full list of results, please click here.
Mars Hill next runs at the Fire Tower Project on Friday, September 13th at Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. The race is set for a 6 p.m. start.
