Crusaders Wrap Up Competition at the Concordia Classic

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Dallas men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Concordia Classic on Friday.  The course was an odd layout, with the women ending up running a 5.5k and the men a 7.3k.

The women placed ninth out of 12 competing with a final score of 277, finishing 22 points behind Mary Hardin-Baylor.  Our Lady of the Lake were the overall champions with a score of 19 points.  Maria Pecha paced the team with a final time of 27:38.6 to finish 53rd in the field of over 100 runners.  Ella Davis and Melissa Gabino finished within a minute of each other in 65th and 67th, with Miranda Roach right behind in 71st with a time of 32:37.2. 

Angela Vu and Grace Bilnoski rounded out the field for Dallas with times of 34:21 and 41:25.  Davis, Roach, Vu, and Bilnoski all made their debuts for the Crusaders.

The men placed 11th out of 14 competing teams, finishing behind the Texas Running Club (279 points) and above UMHB (373 points).  Our Lady of the Lake also took the men's overall title with a final score of 50 points.

Nico Walz led the Crusaders with a final time of 26:37.4 to finish in the top 50 in the field of nearly 150 runners.  Tanish Garg came next in 70th place with a time of 27:35.9, with James Latour less than a minute behind in 78th.  Caleb Clayton finished in 29:12.4, Paul Simko in 30:56.8, and Andrew Kamp rounded out the field with a time of 34:22.7.

"Although the course was short, both our men and women did a good job," said head coach Nich Schneigert.  "Hats off to our new members of the women's team for sticking it through.  I feel if we had a normal 6k and 8k course, Maria, Nico, and Caleb could have had PR's, they were feeling good.  Tanish really surprised me and has developed quickly as our number two.  We have several verbal commits that will be great additions alongside him next year.  This is our rebuilding year and with our recruiting class for next year, I think we can possibly break into the top half of the standings."

Up Next

Both teams will be competing in the Mustang Open on October 8th, hosted by Midwestern State University at the River Creek Golf Course in Wichita Falls, Texas.