Senior Austin Nolan (Evansville, Indiana) made a late move that saw him rise one spot throughout the final stages of Saturday morning’s Trevecca Division II Showcase Invitational and the positioning proved pivotal as No. 8 University of Southern Indiana Men’s Cross Country earned a one-point victory over No. 20 University of Charleston (W.Va.) in a 10-team field that featured four nationally-ranked teams.
Nolan finished third in the 110-competitor field with an eight-kilometer time of 25 minutes, 2.9 seconds as the Screaming Eagles finished with a team score of 60 points.
Sophomore Titus Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee), who joined his brother Javan Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) in competing in their home state for the first time in their collegiate cross country careers, finished ninth with a time of 25:36.6. Senior Nathan Hall (Springfield, Missouri) was 10th with a time of 25:36.9.
As a team, the Eagles placed four runners in the top 20 and six in the top 30 as they posted a four-point win over third-place and No. 16-ranked Lee University (Tenn.). The University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, which entered the week ranked No 10 in the nation, was fourth with 68 points.
Rounding out USI’s top five finishers were juniors Grady Wilkinson (Mt. Carmel, Illinois) and Gavin Prior (Mattoon, Illinois), who were 18th and 22nd, respectively. Senior Darin Lawrence(Indianapolis, Indiana) was 29th in his season debut, while the Eagles’ top seven was completed with the 33rd-place finish of junior Wyat Harmon (Fredericktown, Ohio).
USI returns to action October 12 when the Eagles compete at the Lewis University Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois. The Eagles host the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships October 26 as well as the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships November 9 at Angel Mounds.
