Adrian, Michigan - The men's cross country team returned to action yesterday afternoon and finished in third place at the WHAC Championships held at Heritage Park. The Saints tallied 58 points, while Cornerstone won the meet with 41 points and Madonna was runner-up with 56 points.
Andrew Stern led the way for the Saints by covering the 8000 meter course in a time of 25:21. His sixth place finish garnered him All-WHAC First Team honors. The trio of
Brian Langlois (25:30),
Shema Reponse (25:39) and
Juan David Hernandez Avila (25:43) followed Andrew through the finish chute as they placed 9th, 12th and 14th respectively. They all were named Second Team All-WHAC for their performances. The fifth scoring position was recorded by
Jaben Bakker, who placed 17th in a time 25:53.
Also contributing to Aquinas' top seven were
Austin Williford, who finished 18th in a time of 25:55 and
Carson Lafferty (19th place), who crossed the line in 26:01. Lafferty was also named to the WHAC's Champion of Character team.
A total of 123 individuals competed for 11 different programs.
The men's cross country team had a total of 15 student-athletes earn a spot on the WHAC's All-Academic Team.
Jaben Bakker,
Isaac Boire,
Charlie Coyle,
Parker Fenton,
Carson Lafferty,
Brian Langlois,
Bonfils Matenga,
Noah Momber,
Fred Moreau,
Jack Phillips,
Adrian Romero,
Jake Rottier,
Mitchell Smith,
Will VanderBor, and
Austin Williford all earned the distinction
The Saints will now wait to see if they will receive one of the at-large berths to the NAIA National Championships in Tallahassee, Florida.
