EDMOND, Okla. – Oklahoma Baptist men's cross country tied East Central on points, but claimed victory on Saturday at the Central Oklahoma Land Run in Edmond. It was the first meet since OBU coach Matt Kennedy began overseeing the squad.
Though OBU and ECU both scored 62 points, the Bison won the meet as a result of an NCAA rule that states that "ties in team scoring shall be broken by comparing in order the place finish of each of the five scoring members of the tied teams. The team with the majority of winning comparisons shall be awarded the higher place." Because OBU placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 20, they won scoring comparisons, 3-2, and took home the meet title.
In addition to knocking off ECU, the Bison beat the Central Region's 10th-ranked team in Harding, as well as Southern Arkansas, the second place team from last season's Great American Conference Championship.
"I'm really proud of how the guys competed today," said Coach Kennedy. "We really didn't have great performances, at least not to the high standards of the guys, but I thought it was a solid start to the season. We knocked the rust off, now we can get in a good training routine and prepare for Missouri Southern."
Noah Eskew, in his first collegiate race, led the Bison with a seventh place finish after posting a time of 21:13.6, followed immediately by redshirt senior Blaine Whitson in eighth with a time of 21:13.6. Nathan Crowson was the next OBU runner over the line in a time of 21:32.8, good for 12th overall. Rounding out the scoring for the Bison were DeAngelo Robles in 17th and Jarrett Ellis in 18th with times of 21:44.4 and 21:47.0, respectively.
Garrett Elmore crossed the line in 22:30.9 to place 34th, and Cameron Mills was 35th in a time of 22:34.0. Carlos James finished the course with a time of 24:05.7, claiming 51st, while Caleb Dyer was the final Bison across in a time of 24:10.7, good for 52nd overall.
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