Kansas City, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's cross country team took part in the Midwest XC Invitational on Saturday morning in Kansas City, Missouri; hosted by Avila University. The Eagles finished in third place out of five schools.
"Our men were missing our number two runner today with a minor injury, but we competed well overall," said CMU Director of Cross Country Mark Nelson. "This is a young team, and they are doing a great job with competing with the more experienced teams they have been facing."
As a team, Central Methodist placed third against schools from the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Freshman Elliot Knernschield (FR/Jefferson City, Mo.) led CMU with a sixth place finish, with a time of 27:47.57. Justin Smith (JR/Orland, Calif.) finished in 11th place, with a time of 28:12.42. Joseph Bruemmer (FR/Jefferson City, Mo.) finished 17th, with teammate Doug Hutcherson (SR/Clinton, Mo.) finishing right behind Bruemmer in 18th place.
Overall, Central had nine runners run on Saturday morning. The course in Kansas City featured sharp turns and a lot of hills.
The Eagles return to action on Saturday October, 22nd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the NAIA Seminole Valley Invite.
For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles.
