Estrada Enters Record Book as Panthers Win 7th Straight
It was a record-setting day for Gianni Estrada as he led Greenville University to its seventh consecutive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Championship. Estrada took home his third straight individual title, tying the conference record for consecutive titles, and becoming just the second runner in conference history to accomplish that feat. The only other runner to win three straight SLIAC individual titles was Kevin Capp who did so for Principia College from 1990-92.
Estrada, who had an offseason surgery, has been training for this moment since the summer and did not disappoint. Pulling away from the field with a steady pace he finished the 8K course in a time of 26:02, besting the closest runner by 27 seconds. Estrada was not the only Panther giving fans a show as they had the top four finishers in the race.
Kaleb Carlson had the best championship performance in his career, running a season-best time of 26:29 and taking second place. He was followed by Joe Gomez and and Jeremiah Perry, who finished just two seconds apart. The final scoring Panther was Adam Well, finishing in 27:27 and 6th place overall. With five runners in the top six the Panthers won the team title with a score of 16 points; the second-best team score in conference history. Their team points margin of 54 points was also second only to the 2000 championship when Greenville won by 55 points.
Webster University finished in 2nd place with 70 points. The Gorloks were led by Cameron Sakuma who took 5th place individually with a time of 27:17. Sam Baker also had a top-ten finish, coming in 8th with a time of 27:37.
Finishing in 3rd place was Principia College with 93 points. Rex Heath led the Panthers with a time of 27:29, finishing in 7th place. Aaron Nutwell finished in 30:11 for a 17th-place finish and three more Panthers were within 12 seconds of each other and finished 22nd, 23rd, and 24th.
Fontbonne University totaled 112 points for a 4th place showing. The Griffins' top three runners were freshmen with Gabriel Hoekel leading the way with a time of 30:10. Dominic Mueller was just 20-seconds back and finished in 18th place.
Eureka College came in 5th with 113 points, marking the best performance by the program since joining the SLIAC. This year was the first time since 2012 the Red Devils finished with a team score and their score was 50 points better than their previous low of 163 in the 2008 season. Anthony Delira (9th place) and Bailey Webster (10th place) become the Red Devils' first-ever All-Conference runners with both finishing under 28-minutes.
Westminster College placed 6th with 139 points Michael Giles led the Blue Jays with a 15th-place showing, finishing in a time of 28:51.
Rounding out the team scoring was Blackburn College with 163 points. Quentin Smith paced the Beavers with a time of 32:35, finishing 26th. Locke Hord was just behind in 27th place with a season-best time in the 8K of 32:53.
Spalding University competed with two runners, missing out on the team score. Wyatt Frye took 13th with a time of 28:14 while Peter McGowan finished 18th with a time of 29:23.
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