KENOSHA, WIS. – After punching their third ticket to the National Championships, the Anderson University men's cross country team finished 8^th out of 34 on the field Saturday morning. The top-8 finish for the Black and Gold marks the best national team finish in program history, tallying 338 points on the race.
 
"We could not have asked for a better day." said head coach Kevin Eagle. "At the beginning of the year, we knew that if we made it to the race healthy, we could be a top 15 team in the country. As the season progressed, that was our main goal. Once the post season hit and we were in full swing, I knew this group had potential for much more than just 15. I could not in my wildest dreams predict we would finish eighth."
 
Redshirt junior Elliot Dotson (Simpsonville, S.C.)  led the team with a 45^th place individual finish out of 259 runners, crossing the line with a 10k time of 30:50. Shortly behind was redshirt-senior Spain Vaughan (Greer, S.C.), finishing with a time of 31:03 for a 61^st place finish on the field. Finishing third for the Trojans and 84^th on the field was sophomore Will Cronin with a time of 31:26.
 
Freshman Grayson Gibbons (Simpsonville, S.C.) closed off an incredible first season as a Trojan with a 31:31. 10k time to finish 92^nd on the field. Junior Sean McAdams (Greenville, S.C.) crossed the line in 108^th with a time of 31:47.
 
Rounding out the scoring for Anderson and contributing to the historical finish was senior Joey Tindale (Rock Hill, S.C.) and senior Angel Galan (Santa Marta De Tormes, Spain) finishing 126^th and 193^rd with times of 32:00 and 32:38 respectively.
 
"All seven guys ran for the Trojan on their chest and put it all out on the course today." added Eagle. "We moved up perfectly throughout the race and finished as a top-8 team. I am so happy for our seniors who had to endure last year's national meet performance.
 
After entering the week seated 21^st in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll, Anderson finished eighth behind seven nationally ranked teams including South Atlantic Conference opponent No. 1 Wingate.
 
"This group has set the standard for what it means to be an Anderson Trojan. We will enjoy this group for such a long time. It truly is a special group."
 
Race results can be found here.