SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Southern Utah University men's cross country team wrapped up competition at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon, finishing sixth place as a team in a stacked field.
The race was five miles (8K), and ran on the Burke Golf Course on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
Sophomore Kasey Knevelbaard led the way for the Thunderbirds once again, finishing in a time of 24:00.0 and placing 12th overall in the field. This is the third time he has been the top finisher for the Thunderbirds this season.
Matthew Wright was second for the T-Birds and 37th overall, finishing in a time of 24:20.7.
SUU had three finishers in a row finishing 45th, 46th and 47th as George Espino (24:25.8), Aidan Reed (24:26.1) and Josh Collins (24:28.0) all finished in a pack. Early in the race Reed fell, but was able to climb all the way back into SUU's top five.
Liam Kennell was SUU's next finisher in 98th, with a time of 24:54.7 and Brady Olson finished in 103rd with a time of 24:57.0.
Kyle Warrick was the last T-Bird to cross the line, finishing in 157th with a time of 25:34.7.
SUU head coach Eric Houle said he was very impressed by the way the team competed today, and believes it is a sign of things to come down the road. Â
"This was a much better performance this weekend out of the guys on a pretty big stage," he said. "To compete with the teams that we did today, and to beat the ones that we did, are strong indicators that our team is a player at the National level."
The meet featured a handful of Top 25 Teams. SUU finished ahead of No. 24 Washington State and No. 23 North Carolina State who were both ranked ahead of the T-Birds in the most recent USTFCCCA Poll that the Thunderbirds received votes in but were not ranked.
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