SALEM, Va. – Hunter Steinau finished in the top five to lead the High Point University men's cross country team to a third-place finish at the Big South Championships Sunday morning.
 
"If this was NASCAR we would say that we got caught up in the big one," HPU Head Coach Mike Esposito said. "I am certainly disappointed in the result, but not the effort. We have an exceptional group of young men. Our preparation and workout results are not transferring to the races when it counts and that is on me. Credit to Charleston Southern for setting the bar high and UNC Asheville for their improvement. It's time to regroup, clear our heads, and finish strong at regionals in two weeks. Big shoutout to Remy (Tamer) and our girls. I am very proud of what they have accomplished."
 
Despite HPU's third-place finish, the Panthers still managed to score some hardware at the award ceremony. High Point leader Steinau made the conference all-academic team as well as the first team all-conference, while Graham Ferguson and Kyle Spencer both secured second team all-conference. Reuben Kosche rounded out the award ceremony for the Panthers with the Newcomer of the Year award, which is awarded to the first transfer student-athlete to finish the race.
 
HPU was led by senior Steinau, who finished fifth for the Panthers with a time of 24:23.7. High Point's mid-distance championship racer, Ferguson, competed in his first race of the year and finished second for HPU. The junior finished with a time of 25:06.3 in 11th place. Spencer was third across the line for HPU, clocking a time of 25:11.8, good for 13th place.
 
Ian Miller was the next finisher for High Point, finishing with a time of 25:18.0 and placing him in 16th. Kyler Koning finished three runners later in 20th place with a time of 25:39.0. Jake Tarosky was right on Koning's heels, clocking a time of 25:43.8, placing him in 21st. Kosche rounded out the top-25 runners at the meet with a time of 25:53.0. Gavin Stevens crossed the finish line in 31st place with a time of 26:17.7. Jacob Fiorillo finished 56th for the Panthers with a time of 28:25.9. Jason Thomson rounded out the lineup for High Point, but was unable to finish the race.