Men's Cross Country | 10/15/2016 8:26:00 PM

GERVAIS, Ore. – St. Edward's men's cross country finished seventh Saturday at the Wes Cook/George Fox Invite at Willamette Mission State Park.
 
A total of six Hilltoppers posted personal best times in the 8,000-meter race. Freshman MAURI PADILLA finished first on the team, followed by sophomore JOHN DANIELS. However, it was freshman JACOB NAVA with the biggest improvement, dropping his time by 19 seconds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Padilla was the top finisher for St. Edward's, placing 23rd with a time of 26:47.3.
• Daniels (27:01.1) and Nava (27:21.8) rounded out the top three, finishing 30th and 40th, respectively.
• Freshman STONE HAMLIN finished fourth on the team and 45th overall in 27:30, while freshman JONATHAN ORONA (28:10.1) rounded out the team scoring in 59th.
• NICK ZUNIGA (28:34.8, 68th), VANCE THUESEN (29:01.1, 82nd), CHAD SCHMIDT (29:03.4, 83rd), NICHOLAS BARRETT (29:27.8, 88th), and NICK GENIN (29:34.8, 89th) all competed for the Hilltoppers as well.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• Daniels, Orona, Zuniga, Thuesen, and Genin all joined Nava with personal bests. The margin of improvement ranged from one second to Nava's 19 seconds.
• Padilla has been the team's top finisher in three straight races.
• Daniels and Zuniga represent the only non-freshmen in St. Edward's top seven.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH DAVID CHANDLER
"We are starting to fill in some gaps. It was exciting to watch the team race well today, despite the mud and rain. We look forward to having some people back from injury and joining us for the conference race next week."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Heartland Conference Championships. The race will be hosted by Dallas Baptist in Mansfield, Texas, at the Mansfield Sports Complex. The men's 8,000-meter race is scheduled for at 10 a.m.
 
RACE INFORMATION
Team Finish: 7/13
Distance: 8,000 meters
Top 5 Teams: UO Running (1), Lane CC (2), Whitman (3), Whitworth (4), George Fox (5)
 
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