Six in a Row for Panthers
The Greenville University men's cross country team wrapped up its 6th consecutive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship and the 18th in program history. Running on a flat but rain-soaked course the Panthers totaled 23 points, tied for the 3rd lowest team score in SLIAC championship history. Gianni Estrada turned in a dominant individual performance, completing the 8K course in a time of 25:58 and finishing over one minute ahead of the next runner. It marks the second straight individual championship for Estrada and he becomes the 8th runner to win back-to-back individual titles.
It was the team depth that pushed the Panthers to another title, placing four runners in the top six and seven in the first 11 of the finishers. Collin Kessinger took 3rd place with a time of 27:06. Joe Gomez placed 5th, just four seconds ahead of teammate Garrett Johnson. Lukas Baird was 8th with Kaleb Carlson and Jeremiah Perry recording the final championship points for the Panthers.
Nathan Freyling finished 2nd, leading the way for Webster University. He crossed in a time of 27 flat as the Gorloks totaled 52 team points; mirroring Freyling's 2nd place finish. Principia College took 3rd with 91 points and was led by Boone Steele's 20th place showing. Spalding University came in 4th with 92 points with Noah McClellan coming in 4th place individually with a time of 27:07. Fontbonne University was 5th as a team with 136 points. They were led by Cameron Clemons who finished 36th. Blackburn College placed 6th with 159 points as Quentin Smith was the first Beaver to cross the line, finishing 38th overall.
Eureka College and Westminster College also had runners compete individually. Eureka's Javier Garcia led his team with a 25th place showing while Westminster was paced by Michael Giles' 23rd place finish.
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