By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
VICTORIA, Kan. – After placing four runners in the top 25, the Fort Hays State men’s cross country team finished third at the FHSU Tiger Open Saturday morning (Oct. 12). The Tigers hosted the eighth annual event at their home course, Sand Plum Nature Trail.
Fort Hays State picked up 71 points as a team, just two back of second place. Robbie Schmidt earned a 10th-place finish after traversing the eight-kilometer course in 24:57.6. Israel Barco finished 15th after crossing the line in 25:13.4. Seppe van ‘t Westende (22nd, 25:28.6) and Reed Rome (24th, 25:30.2) were the next two Tigers across the line, finishing less than two seconds apart. Robert Loeffler rounded out the Tiger scoring in 29th, recording a time of 25:37.7. All five runners in the scoring for FHSU recorded personal bests on an 8K course.
Colorado School of Mines topped the field with 31 points after all five runners placed in the top 19. Mines’ Derek Steele won the individual title with a time of 24:08.9. This year’s field in the gold division race consisted of 138 runners representing 13 schools.
In the men’s black division race, Wesley Banguria of Colby set a new course record by more than 21 seconds when he crossed the line in 23:11.8. Thirteen teams and 131 individuals completed the black division race, with Iowa Western taking the team title with 54 points.
The Tigers now have two weeks to prepare for the MIAA Championships, scheduled for Saturday, October 26 in Joplin, Mo. The men’s 8K championship race is set to begin at 11 a.m.
Complete FHSU Results
Place – Name – Time
10 – Robbie Schmidt – 24:57.6
15 – Israel Barco – 25:13.4
22 – Seppe van ‘t Westende – 25:28.6
24 – Reed Rome – 25:30.2
29 – Robert Loeffler – 25:37.7
45 – Justin Moore – 25:59.4
48 – Peter Franklin – 26:07.0
51 – Abraham Garcia – 26:14.8
53 – Kaleb Crum – 26:17.6
59 – Caleb Carrasco – 26:34.7
74 – Guillaume Plagneux – 27:03.9
83 – Michael Eisenbarth – 27:28.7
101 – Jorge Gallegos – 28:00.1