Youthtowne, PA. – The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team ran their final tune-up on Saturday when they competed at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. The Cardinals ran against competition from across the region as they battled against teams across all three levels of the NCAA. Wheeling was able to place two runners in the top 100 of the event as they rounded out the regular season strong.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was sophomore Magnus Polkner, who would set a PR for the second straight week. He finished 66th in the field and was just a few seconds shy of grabbing a spot in the top 60 of the field. He would run a time of 26:39.50, shaving 11 seconds off his previous PR. It was back and forth between Polkner and teammate Hunter Tomich for the top spot for the Cardinals, but a late kick was enough to put Polkner over the top. After missing the first race of the season, Polkner has run 8K's all season for the Cardinals and has lowered his time each time he has taken the course. He broke the 26-minute mark for the second straight time as he continues to battle for one of the top spots in the conference. He was able to crack the top 20 among the Mountain East Conference (MEC) field and he looks to compete for his first career All-MEC honors.
Finishing in the second spot for the Cardinals was Hunter Tomich, who finished 74th overall. He would run a season best time of 26:55.7, cracking a 27-minute Mark for the first time this season. He and Polkner we're battling it out over the final stretch of the race, but a late kick put Tomich In the number two spot. He would just miss out on a top 20 finish for the Cardinals take you 22nd over among conference competition as he continues to make a push. It was also a big day on the track for freshman Aidan McKenna, who set a new PR for the second week in a row. He just missed cracking the 32-minute mark, running a time of 32:01.40, and set a new PR by nearly 45 seconds. Over his last two races, McKenna has taken over 3 and ½ minutes off of his 8K time as he continues to grow on the course in his first year with the Cardinals.
Rounding out the day for Wheeling was Tyler Crook and Erik Berroa finishing in the #3 and #5 spots for the Cardinals. Crook would finish 163rd overall with a time of 30:32.90, finishing just 8 seconds behind his season. Best time. Berroa would run in his first race for the Cardinals this season, and took 190th at 40:17.60.
The Wheeling University Men'a Cross Country team returns to action on Saturday, October 25th, when they run at the MEC Cross Country Championships at 10 AM.
