Kayla Springer | The Echo
The Taylor University men's cross country team had an outstanding race at the Greater Louisville Classic last weekend, running some of the team's personal best times and recording the fastest time that the program has seen in head coach Lance Vanderberg's time at Taylor.
The No. 14 Trojans finished third out of 35 teams, outrunning No. 5 Marian, No. 11 Indiana Tech and No. 20 Shawnee State in their stellar performance. Taylor posted a team time of 130:01, which was over a minute faster than any other NAIA team at the meet.
Vanderberg attributed the team's success to the hard work they have been putting in throughout the season. The fourth-year head coach also commented that the team ran intelligently and demonstrated their extreme depth as a group.
"We had a solid few weeks of training leading up to the meet," senior Matt Hall said. "It usually takes about two weeks for the work a runner does in practice to pay off in a race. A few of the guys are also starting to recover from slight injuries or setbacks they had earlier in the season. We are starting to look stronger and stronger each week."
Hall paced the Trojan attack once again, finishing fourth out of 317 runners. His impressive 24:57.83 finish was just two seconds off of a new personal-best time.
Eight Trojans recorded the fastest times of their careers this weekend, including senior Tanner Dye, juniors Joseph Beamish and Jonathan Taylor, sophomore Landry Long and freshmen Hunter Smith, Conner Legge, Reid Otto and Garrett Henderson.
Following Hall, Taylor's top five finishers included Beamish at 15th overall with a time of 25:44.48, Dye in 16th at 26:01.96, Smith in 62nd at 26:38.07 and Taylor in 63rd with a time of 26:38.97.
However, the Trojans are not satisfied with the success they have already found this season.
"(The team is) still grinding by working hard in workouts and running high mileage through these meets," Beamish said.
Vanderberg echoed Beamish's thoughts, stating the team's best days are ahead if they can stay healthy and maintain their work ethic.
The Trojans will look to build upon their exciting weekend when they compete next at the Bethel Invite today at 6 p.m.
"Photograph provided by TU Sports Information Department"
