Men's Cross Country Starts Season with 8k at DBU Patriot/Orville Rogers XC Opener

Men's Cross Country Starts Season with 8k at DBU Patriot/Orville Rogers XC Opener

MANSFIELD, Texas – The University of Dallas men's cross country team opened the 2018 season on Saturday with a 5k at the DBU Patriot/Orville Rogers XC Opener. Host NCAA Division II Dallas Baptist University scored first place with a 17.

The Crusaders were able to post an average time of 30:57 minutes for the scorers.

John James (Metairie, La.) ran the fastest time for UD with a 28:45.3 mark. His time placed him in 28th. Joseph Kilmer (Rockville, Md.), who was the returner with the lowest times in 2017, followed with a 28:50.6 time for 32nd. Elijah Depew (Grove City, Pa.) rounded out the top three UD times with a 30:37.4.

Gabe Volpe (Harrah, Okla.) and Ty Moran (Sallisaw, Okla.) were two freshmen that made their collegiate debuts on the day.

"The team treated today like a tempo run through half the race, then tried to pick up the pace at the end," Head Coach Matt Barber explained. "Ultimately we won't start running fast in practice for a couple more weeks so I am ecstatic with how everyone ran coming off the summer."

"For the men, this was the earliest we've ever had an 8k in the season," Barber continued. "I am excited to get them in a faster race (5k) at TLU in a couple of weeks."

UP NEXT

Dallas returns to the trails in two weeks for the TLU Bulldog Invitational on September 15.