LEWISTON, Idaho - Junior
TJ Wright broke the NCU 8000m record on Saturday, taking sixth place to lead the Northwest Christian University men’s cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the Inland Empire Classic.
Wright ran a 24:46 for the Beacons, taking seven seconds off of the record set by teammate
Garrett Kraal at the same race last season.
Just behind Wright in 15
th was
Eli Shelby, setting a new personal record at 25:12, the fifth-fastest time in NCU history.
Kraal crossed the finish line next in 25:27, taking 23
rd place.
Conner Covey (47
th, 26:27) and
Andres Martinez (52
nd, 26:40) rounded out the scoring for the Beacons, both hitting personal records.
In the Non-Division I competition, NCU took fourth place, scoring 94 points. They came in just behind No. 17 Lewis-Clark State who was third with 89. The University of Calgary won the race with 21 points, followed by No. 16 Eastern Oregon with 58.
Also running for the Beacons and all setting personal records on Saturday were
Colby Hansen (55
th, 26:45),
Luke Sparks (77
th, 28:43),
Diego Delaplane (78
th, 28:55),
Joseph Miller (81
st, 29:48) and
Micah Jury (82
nd, 29:51).
Next up for the Beacons will be the CCC Championship as they look to impress the national voters enough to move into the NAIA berth conversation.