Men's Cross Country Competes At SLIAC Championships

Senior, Quentin Smith, completed his cross country career at Blackburn College by leading his team once again at the SLIAC Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, October 29. Smith has been a leader in the cross country program throughout his four seasons and completed his final race by placing 26th with a time of 32:35.6 over the 8,000 meter course.

Junior, Locke Hord, punctuated a breakthrough season with a breakthrough performance at the SLIAC championship meet by finishing in 27th place and just 18 seconds behind team captain, Quentin Smith, with a 32:53.6 race over the 8,000m course (5 miles at 6:37/mile). Not only was this Locke's fastest 8k, but he has destroyed his previous records all season. Locke's best 8k in 2021 was 37:09. His first 8k in 2022 was 35:58. His second was 34:32, and his final 8k of the season today broke the 33-minute barrier! 

Freshman, Will Teig, continued to display his potential by setting a PR and finishing third for the Beavers with a time of 35:16, finishing just three seconds ahead of junior, Luis Alvarado. Another freshman, Cody Moore, rounded out the scoring for Blackburn. In addition, sophomore, Marco Nova, destroyed his previous PR by running a 38:18, which is four minutes faster than his previous PR just two weeks ago!

The men’s team finished in seventh place in the team competition. Luis Alvarado was presented with the individual Sportsmanship Award for Blackburn, and the entire men’s team was recognized with the Team Sportsmanship Award, which had only been won by the men’s program once before (2017).

Coach Al Sturgeon said, “There were a lot of positives in the men’s race today. Three huge PRs from Locke, Will, and Marco were super exciting, but the Team Sportsmanship Award and the individual award from Luis combined to make it a special day all around. And I just can’t say enough good things about Quentin. He has been a constant presence in the Blackburn cross country program that will be missed terribly, but his perseverance and leadership on behalf of the team has begun to pay off. He leaves our program poised to do good things, and I am so grateful for him!”