STEVENSON, Md. – The Messiah Men's Cross Country team earned the win at the MAC Preview meet held by Stevenson University on Saturday afternoon with a final team score of 18, just three points shy of the lowest possible score. The Falcons were a dominant presence on the course from the start, with
Kaleb Kabakjian and
Samuel Hennett taking an early lead that held through the end of the race as the duo finished 1-2 in times of 26:38.9 and 26:43.3, respectively.
Messiah returns to action at 10:00 a.m. at the Lock Haven Invite on Saturday, Sept. 26, a race set to serve as a preview for the Regional Championship later this season.
On the Course
Messiah demonstrated the strength of pack running Saturday afternoon, as the Falcons claimed seven of the top ten finishes of the afternoon in the 8k race. As mentioned, the Falcons were led by the duo of
Kaleb Kabakjian and
Samuel Hennett. The pair took an early lead in the field of 109 racers and never looked back. The duo were the only finishers to break 27 minutes on the day. Kabakjian crossed the line in 26:38.9 to claim the individual title with Hennett earning runner-up honors in a time of 26:43.3. A Mount St. Mary's runner in third was the only thing preventing the Falcons from a clean sweep of the top five spots.
Josiah Carnwath led a pack of four Falcons to top ten finishes, crossing the line in 27:20.4 to finish fourth. Finishing in fifth was
Micah Kao, who ran a personal best time of 27:27.2 in the Falcons first 8k of the season.
Ryan Klemick was the final scorer for the Falcons, finishing sixth in a time of 27:33.6, just ahead of teammate
Dante Checco who finished his first 8k in a time of 27:49.6.
Rounding out the top ten finishers for the Falcons was
Bradley Kreider in a time of 28:04.1.
Caden Sarkett raced strong in his first 8k, crossing the line in a time of 28:19.6, finishing 15th. Close behind him were
Samuel Meyer (28:25.7) and
Eli McClymont (28:34.9) who finished 17th and 20th, respectively.
The trio of
Matthew Yost,
Jackson Kay, and
Burke Heltzel rounded out the top 30 finishes for Messiah. Yost finished 25th with a time of 28:39.5 with Kay crossing in 28:52.4 to finish 27th. Heltzel completed his first 8k race in 29:02.2 to finish in 30th.
Larsen Cooper was the next Falcon to cross the line, finishing in a time of 29:10.4.
Alex Williams (29:23.5) and Nation Hutchinson (29:34.1) were the next to finish.
Nathan Steen finished in a time of 29:42.9, with
Luke Acton being the next Falcon to cross in a time of 30:06.9.
Nathan Seibert and
Jared Walker finished in times of 30:14.8 and 30:16.3, respectively. The next Falcon to cross the line was
Daniel Satariano in a time of 30:53.3 with
Josiah Hickey shortly behind in a time of 31:09.4.
Matthew Rush (31:29.1),
Samuel Mateer (31:37.8), and
Isaac Struck-Vander Haak (32:11.3) were the final Falcons to cross the line.
Up Next
Messiah returns to action at 10:00 a.m. at the Lock Haven Invite on Saturday, Sept. 26, a race set to serve as a preview for the Regional Championship later this season.
