EARLYSVILLE, VA. – The High Point University men's cross-country team finished 14th on Friday morning at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Hocine Bouchrak was the top finisher for the Panthers placing 21st, finishing with a time of 30:34.8.

The Panthers finished better then the ACC's Clemson and Louisville, and the Big South's Charleston Southern. 
 

"It Sounds funny to say, that I was very pleased with a 14th place finish today. Our kids really bounced back from a disappointing conference meet." Head Coach of the men's cross-country team Mike Esposito said. "Our goals were to be in the top 15, and compete! Hocine (Bouchrak), obviously ran an exceptional race, and every team member behind him did their job. Spencer (Henderson) and Austen (Cave) worked really well together throughout the race. Siro (Pino Cardona) and Ian (Miller). Took a nice step forward, and Shane held up well in his first 10K race. TJ (Morales) was a little disappointed with his performance, but he has meant a great deal to our program over the last four years. I was very proud of these guys. Now we take a little restoration, And then it's back to work. These guys want to play a large role in our pursuit of Track & Field conference championships."

Hocine Bouchrak finished 21st with a time of 30:34.8. Bouchrak was in 53rd at the 3k split, Bouchrak improved 32 spots in his race to finish 21st. Bouchrak placed 20 spots higher than he did a year ago at the NCAA Southeast regional.

Austen Cave finished 74th with a time of 31:47.5, Cave was the second Panther to finish. Cave improved 60 spots throughout the race. He was 134th at the 3K split and powered himself to a top 100 finish placing 74th. 

Spencer Smucker was 134th at the 3K split, he improved 62 places to finish as the third panther in 72nd place. The Sophomore made this biggest improvement from split to split of any Panther on the day.

Siro Pina Cardona was the fourth Panther to finish as he placed 117th with a time of 32.41.6. 

Freshman Ian Miller finished 124th with a time of 32:46.1, Miller improved 45 spots as he jumped from 169 at the 3K split to crossing the finish line and earning a 124th place finish. 

Shane Henderson finished 154th, he improved 42 spots throughout the race. TJ Morales finished 189th for the Panthers.

The Panthers wrap up their season with a top fifteen NCAA Southeast Regional finish, and three top five finishes on the year with their best finish coming at the VertCross in a second-place performance. 

#GoHPU