SCAC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: Men's Cross Country Ready for Saturday
KERRVILLE, Texas – The University of Dallas men's cross country team will compete in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Championship on Saturday, October 27, at Schreiner University.
2018 SCAC Cross Country Championships Tournament Central
The Crusaders will be competing in their 4th 8k this fall, with the previous race that distance being a 2nd place finish on the guys team. Joseph Kilmer (Rockville, Md.) ended up taking 3rd place individually.
Dallas was unable to race in its home invite from two weeks ago due to weather, so have not competed since the first weekend of the month. The Crusaders are anxious to get back on the trails for the conference championship.
5th-year head coach Matt Barber fields a solid roster of 15 players on it – his largest during his tenure with the program.
For consecutive years, Kilmer is the leading finisher on the squad. He posted a 27:14 mark in his freshman SCAC Championship Race a year ago. That mark was a personal record that season and remains his best time in that distance, although most of his races have featured difficult course conditions.
John James (Metairie, La.) is back this season after missing his sophomore year due to studying on the Rome Campus. James has finished second on the team with the fastest times this year. He did secure a PR in the 2018 DBU Patriot/Orville Rogers XC Opener (28:45.3), which was the team's season opener. James clocked a 28:08.29 for 19th in the 2016 league championship.
Andrew Maal (Pueblo West, Colo.) and Elijah Depew (Grove City, Pa.) are another two returners that have been finishing within the top-five UD times this fall. Maal registered a season-best 31:39.9 for 11th in the last 8k. Both Depew and Maal etched there personal records this distance in last season's championship race 28:18.1 and 30:13, respectively.
Ty Moran (Sallisaw, Okla.) has emerged as the top newcomer runner, as he rounded out the top-five school times in the last meet (34:19.6).
The only other returners on the Crusaders roster that ran last season include: Peter Dinh (Grand Prairie, Texas), Peter Hedlesky (Florissant, Mo.), and Gabe Vazquez (Clive, Iowa).
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes the 2018 fall season at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) on November 9 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with another 8k.