A team championship and having five of the top eight runners at Saturday's (Oct. 11) Carnegie Mellon Invitational has allowed Ashland University's men's cross country team to move up one spot to No. 5 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Regional rankings, released on Tuesday (Oct. 14) afternoon.
This is the AU men's team's highest regional ranking since being slotted fourth in the first week of the 2015 season.
The Eagle men (20 team points) easily out-paced the second-place host Tartans (95 points) and third-place West Virginia Wesleyan (130). Senior
Nate Slater earned Saturday's individual title in the men's race, PRing when crossing the finish line in 24:24.5. Sophomore
Wes Taylor finished right behind Slater in second in 24:31.7.
Senior
Braeden Geist came in fourth in 24:56.7, redshirt freshman
Samuel Thomas was fifth with a PR time of 25:00.5, and senior
Michael Snopik placed eighth with his own PR mark of 25:07.1.
Ashland's four regular-season meets resulted in ending in fifth place at Wright State, second at the All-Ohio Classic at Cedarville, third at the Lock Haven Invitational, and first at Carnegie Mellon.
The Ashland cross country teams will run at the 2025 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships on Oct. 25 at Northwood.
