Men's Cross Country | 9/5/2014 8:52:00 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

AURORA, Ill. (Sep. 5, 2014) - Despite giving several of its top competitors the weekend off from competition, the North Central College men's cross country team still managed a third-place finish in Friday's Aurora University Invitational at Oakhurst Forest Preserve.

The Cardinals put four finishers in the individual top 25 and totaled 78 points. The host Spartans topped the 15-team field with 57, with Harper College a close second with 62. Wheaton College placed fourth with 85, and North Central's freshman team finished fifth with 88.

Aurora's T.J. Pitcock won the individual title, completing the 8,000-meter (five-mile) course in 26 minutes, 55.1 seconds. Daniel Robles was the Cardinals' top finisher, placing second in 27:07.3, followed by Lane Hoffman in ninth (27:25.1), Zach Herrera in 13th (27:39.2) and Kyle Reiling in 25th (28:08.6). Dru Rozewicki completed North Central's scoring by placing 31st in 28:19.6.

The Cardinals' freshman team was paced by Connor Oats, who turned in a fourth-place finish in 27:09.4. Steve Sismelich (16th, 27:48.5) and Jack Billings (20th, 27:56.3) also turned in top-20 finishes.

North Central will split squads on Friday, sending a group to the Country Financial Illinois State University Invitational as well as the Illinois Intercollegiate Invitational at Olivet Nazarene University.