FREDERICK, Md. - The men's cross country team raced their way to third place at the 2019 MAC Cross Country Championships, earning a total of 93 points, finishing behind Stevenson (70) and Widener (53). The Falcons claimed four All-MAC honors with
Galen Fitzkee (6th, 25:54.47) and
Nate Romberger (9th, 26:00.60) taking home First-Team honors while
Logan Horst (22nd, 26:30.59) and
Alex Scheib (24th, 26:34.61) took home Third-Team honors. Rounding out the top-five for the Falcons was
Matthew Royer who took 32nd with a time of 26:46.09.
How It Happened
The Falcons battled their way to third place in the 2019 MAC Cross Country Championships with their top-five finishing in the top-35 in the race.
Galen Fitzkee was the first Falcon to cross the line, coming through in 25:54.47. Fitzkee fooled some competitors as he got off to a bit of a slow start, coming through the 860m split in 18th place. Moving forward, Fitzkee dropped seven places, putting him in 25th at the 1,609m split. From there, Fitzkee put the burners on, dropping 19 places to take sixth place overall.
Nate Romberger had a similar race to Fitzkee, starting the race in 16th place but dropping to 26th place by the 1,609m split. Romberger wasn't out of the fight though, digging in to drop 17 places by the end of the race, earning him a ninth place finish. Freshman
Logan Horst was the next Falcon to come through the line, finishing his first MAC Cross Country Championship in 22nd place with a time of 26:30.59. Following closely behind Horst was
Alex Scheib who finished in 24th place with a time of 26:34.61.
Matthew Royer and
Silas Buckwalter battled their way to the line, finishing in 32nd and 33rd with times of 26:46.09 and 26:46.53, respectively. Impressively, Buckwalter stormed he was through the last half of the race after coming through the 860m split in 56th place. Buckwalter's biggest jump came in the closing moments of the race as he passed eight competitors after the 6,320m split to take 33rd place.
Cassidy Hoffman competed in similar style, starting the day in 58th place but ending the championship in 41st place (26:58.79) after a big second half push. Next up for the Falcons were runners
Josiah Moyer (55th, 27:33.05),
Chad Long (56th, 27:34.50), and
Matt Higgs (62nd, 27:49.61).
Andrew Hutchinson (68th, 27:54.34) and
Sam Rasinske (74th, 28:08.92) capped off the Falcons' efforts in the championship.
What's Up Next
Messiah will travel to Lehigh University on Nov. 16 for the NCAA Mideast Regional meet at 11:00 a.m.
