With one group of Mustangs cross-country athletes having already competed on Friday night, Sept. 20, at the Larry Young Classic in Columbia, Mo. (where the men and the women both won the team titles), a second group of The Master’s University men’s and women’s cross-country teams raced against top competition at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21, in Riverside, Calif.

The men got off to a strong start on the flat and fast course in Riverside, and finished second overall in the 8,000-meter Open section, with 130 points. Senior Andrew Cross finished in 25:09, which was good enough for 13th place. He was followed by junior Hunter Romine (25:33) and sophomore Isaiah Fastrup (25:37) in 39th and 46th place, respectively.

“During the race, I was thinking of the sacrifice Jesus Christ gave on the Cross so that we may have life in His name,” Cross said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to suffer for the One who suffered for us. All Glory to Christ!”

The Mustang freshmen continued to improve with Jeddison Miller (27:35) running a personal best by almost 30 seconds. Freshman Bauer Hollman took a tough fall at the start of the race but was able to finish strong in 26:33.

“I’m just beyond thankful for the strength the Lord provides and the amazing team I have to keep me going,” Hollman said.

The TMU women saw numerous personal bests and strong finishes in the 5,000 meters, as the team finished 23rd. Senior Megan Turner led the way for the Mustangs with a 19:05 finish. Turner moved up 27 spots in the final 500 meters.

Junior Lucy Carter lowered her personal best by more than 30 seconds with her 19:16 effort. Carter passed almost 80 runners over the course of the race and 27 runners in the final 500 meters.

“All glory to God for the race our team had today. The Lord was so kind to allow me to run stride for stride with fellow teammate Brooke Cregan, who was the biggest encouragement throughout the whole race,” Carter said.

Brooke Cregan moved up strong in the second half of the race, passing 60 runners over the 5,000 meter race to finish in 19:18.

The Mustangs will return home to compete in The Master’s University XC Invitational on Oct. 5 in Santa Clarita, Calif. For details visit Master’s Invitational.