Seventy athletes from ten schools competed in the men’s Border War XC Championships on the campus of Principia College on Friday, October 7. The Blackburn College men’s team raced six athletes and finished in eighth place in the overall team standings. Central Missouri won the meet with a dominating performance.

Team captain, Quentin Smith, continues to set the pace for the Beavers, completing the 8k (5 mile) course in 32:22, which is a 6:30/mile pace. This was Quentin’s fastest 8k since his freshman year with two more races left in his college career. Junior, Locke Hord, set a personal PR with a time of 35:58, as did Luis Alvarado (37:46) and Cody Moore (38:34). Marco Nova rounded out the scoring for the Beavers, followed closely by Will Killion who filled in for Will Teig who was out of town.

Coach Al Sturgeon said, “The weather was perfect for running, but the course was hilly and the grass was slow. I was impressed with our team’s hard work and progress. Quentin is just starting to take off, and I was thrilled with his performance tonight. And I expected Locke to set a PR, and he did so easily. This was also the first 8k for Luis and Cody, and they ran very well, too. I look forward to getting Will Teig back next week and seeing how everyone does on a fast course!”

The team is scheduled to race in Hillsboro next Friday, October 14, in the Greenville Classic.