Men's Cross Country Prepares For Conference Championships at NAIA Appalachian Challenge

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- The men's cross country team ran their final meet of the regular season on Friday. The team ran in the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, a meet they hosted. The meet was held at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville, Tenn.

The fastest time from TWU belonged to Eli Cox, who ran the race in a time of 25:22 to finish in 18th place. Cox's time is the fourth fastest 8k time in program history. Mack Alas had the next fastest time, running the course in a time of 26:31 to finish in 53rd. A time of 27:10 placed Ray Richardson in 77th place while Caleb Greene was two spots back in 79th with a time of 27:14. Adrian Nelka-Hernandez ran the 8k race in a time of 27:49 to finish in 103rd place and a time of 28:05 gave Zane Marlow 112th place. 

Tyler Bowers was a few spots behind Marlow, finishing in 114th place with a time of 28:07. Conner Craig completed the race in a time of 28:09 to finish 116th to go along with a 124th place finish by Jack Headrick (28:20). Rounding out the Bulldogs in the race was Stephen Kerley (29:18, 140th), Finn Fitzsimmons (33:36, 176th), and Randy Barnes (35:15, 180th place).

As a team, Tennessee Wesleyan accumulated 290 points to finish in 12th place. 

Cox, Craig, Nelka-Hernandez, and Richardson all ran personal best times in the race. 

The team will return to Sequoyah Park on Nov. 3 for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship.