In preparation for the Southern Athletic Association Championships in a few short weeks, Berry's men's cross country team traveled 13 hours to compete with the top ranked Division III competitors in the country at the Augustana Interregional Invitational in Rock Island, Illinois. The Vikings placed 16th out of a field of 43 against the fastest teams they have faced this season, defeating nationally ranked opponents and conference foes along the way.
Out of the 15 teams that placed in front of the Vikings, eight of them are ranked as the best DIII men's cross country teams in the nation according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Augustana Interregional champions, No. 1 North Central College, dominated the rest of the field on Saturday, compiling a team score of 60. No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater crossed the finish line in second place with 90 points. The third-place finishers rounded out the competitors that are ranked in the top 10 nationally. No. 7 Wartburg College finished with 97 points, beating the fourth-place team, Washington University, by 113 points.
The Berry runners assembled a team score of 457 which was a mere seven points away from No. 28 La Verne College, who finished in 15th place. The Vikings were head-to-head against No. 34 Trinity University throughout the meet, but Berry proved that rankings do not define a team. The Tigers earned a team score of 463, six points behind the Viking men. Conference opponent Centre College also made an appearance at the meet, but the Vikings did not have to worry much about them as they finished in 28th place with a team score of 811.
Leading the pack for the Vikings was Bradshaw Lathbury. The graduate student ran shoulder to shoulder with runners from across the country. Lathbury finished in 12th place out of 453 with a time of 24:51.1. The Woodstock native was six tenths of a second away from 11th place.
Captain Grady Coppock was the second runner in Berry blue to cross the finish line. Coppock tied his personal record, which he set at the Berry Invitational on Sept. 30, of 25:52.8, securing 93rd place. Ethan Smith ran a fast eight kilometers at 26:05.7 and claimed 117th.
Berry's Troy Blackwood and Aaron Bensley ran the fastest races of their careers this morning in Illinois. Blackwood claimed 136th place with a time of 26:12.5. Bensley, a graduate student, paced himself with Blackwood throughout the meet. Clocking a time of 26:15.9, the Powder Springs native beat his personal best by over 15 seconds and finished in 141st.
This meet marked the end of the regular season for the Vikings. Up next, Berry will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 28 for the SAA Championships.
