Moon Twp.,  PA. - After a week of rest and recovery, the Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team made their season debut Friday morning at the Robert Morris Invitational. Fie Cardinals hit the course, and the team would finish 10th in the field that included teams from all three levels of the NCAA. All five Cardinals who ran were making their collegiate cross country debut, setting their benchmarks for the rest of the season. 

Leading the pack was sophomore Redick Moore, who made his collegiate Cross Country debut after missing last year due to injury. Moore would fall just outside the race's top 100, taking 104th with a time of 29:55.83. With four other teams from the Mountain East Conference (MEC) in attendance, Moore would finish 19th in the field, and cracked the top 40 of NCAA DII runners. Moore competed in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs a season ago during Track & Field season, and translated that success onto the Cross Country course. He started with one of the hillier courses that the Cardinals will run this season, and looks to continue lowering those times as he races through the season. 

The final four Cardinals each competed in their first collegiate events, with Conner Black, Jayson Bell, Brody Bolyard, and Daelyn Harris coming out to run from the Men's Track & Field team. Leading the pack was Vonner Black, who ran a time of 43:07.28, followed by Bell at 47:09.61. Bolyard would take 138th with a time of 49:55.12, and Harris finished out the day with a time of 50:28.30 to round out the team portion of the event. 

The Wheeling University Men's Cross Country team returns to action on Saturday, September 26th, when they run at the Youngstown State Invitational.