PIRATE MEN FINISH IN NINTH AGAINST UPPER DIVISION COMPETITION

WACO, Texas - The Southwestern men's cross country team ran an impressive race on an ideal night for their season opener, coming in ninth place out of ten teams with 224 points at the Bear Twilight on Friday night. Host institution, Baylor, won the competition with 29 points. The field included just two Division III team, all the rest were D-I and D-II.

Sophomore Sam Martinez (pictured) was not only the first Southwestern finisher but was also the first D-III runner to cross the finish line. His aggressive start allowed him to hang with the lead pack through the first 5K and came in at a time of 19:40.2 was 19th overall.

Junior Stephen Fuentes came in next for the Pirates in a time of 20:53.9 for 58th place followed by first-year Lando Duarte at 21:11.9 for 68th place. His finish as the third highest runner for Southwestern shows much promise for the season.  Senior Addison English followed in 77th place with a time of 21:38.1.

Senior Sebastian Winkler came in 82nd at 22:04.2, sophomore Thomas Bobbitt placed 85th at 22:32.8 and CJ Martinez, Philip Davis and Sam Marsh rounded out the Pirate effort in 92nd, 93rd and 94th respectively.

The results bode well for the season as SU was missing two of their top runners at the meet. Their next race is at the Texas DIII Championships on September 25th, in Seguin, Texas.