McPHERSON, Kan. -- Freshman Andrew Harder led the way, while sophomore Matthew Cook and freshman Zach Briscoe turned in personal records, as the John Brown University men's cross country team set a new program record time of 2:11:24 to claim third place at the Carol Swenson Invitational, hosted by McPherson (Kan.), on Saturday (Oct. 7) morning at Bulldog Park.
The prior 8,000 meter team record time of 2:11:58 was set last season at the Sooner Athletic Championships.
Harder paced the Golden Eagles for the first time this season, crossing the tape at 25:57, good enough for 10th place overall. Senior Jean-Benoit Merte scored for the second-consecutive race and finished 12th (26:05).
Sophomore Chase Schermer completed the race in 26:19 – just 11 seconds off a PR – landing 19th place. Briscoe's time of 27:57 (21st) and Cook's mark of 26:37 (29th) rounded out the scoring for John Brown. Cook's finish bested his previous PR by a whopping 1:42.
Kansas Wesleyan took the meet with 21 points (2:06:53), while Tabor (Kan.) finished in the runner-up position at 44 points (2:09:17). John Brown competed the race with 83 points (10-12-18-19-24).
JBU boasted a season-best 1-5 split time of :41.
After a couple of weeks off, the Golden Eagles will return to the course on Saturday (Oct. 21) in Ashland, Neb. when John Brown participates in the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic, co-hosted by Doane (Neb.) and Saint Mary (Neb.) at the Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. Start times are yet to be listed.
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