Grand Rapids, Michigan - The men's cross country team opened their season with a solid showing at the Diemer Classic hosted by Calvin University. The Saints ventured to the Gainey Athletic Facility and raced to a first place team finish. Aquinas, who currently sits at #16 in the NAIA national rankings, won on a tiebreaker with Davenport University in the final results.

Juan David Hernandez paced the attack for the Saints finishing second overall in a time of 25:31.  The breakout performances of Charlie Coyle (25:43) and Shema Reponse (25:46) secured the team title as they placed third and fifth respectively.  The other scoring positions were recorded by Brian Langlois (7th - 25:55) and Andrew Stern (13th - 26:24).

Assistant Coach Nick Thelen commented, "Davenport was a tough opponent today and it feels good to come out with a win. We are taking away a lot of lessons from this race about who we are and how we want to race. We will need to elevate ourselves physically and mentally as we progress through the season, but this meet gave us a great starting point to build upon."

Also contributing to Aquinas' top seven were Carson Lafferty who finished 15th in a time of 26:26 and Noah Momber (16th place), who crossed the line at 26:29.

Brian Langlois, senior leader on the squad added, "The front guys were coming off sickness the last two weeks, although that didn't change the expectations we had for ourselves. Some of the younger guys really stepped up today and entered new territory, which I believe will pay dividends down the line. The cob webs are off, we've been training well, and we're looking forward to the progression of the season."

A total of 88 individuals competed for six different programs.

The Saints will return to action on September 26th as they travel to Adrian to compete in the Siena Heights Invitational.