BOONE, N.C. - The High Point Men's Cross Country team competed at the Covered Bridge Open, hosted by App State. Kyler Koning led HPU to a fifth-place finish in the teams opening meet of the 2024 season. 

Head Coach Mike Esposito: "The approach was to show a little growth. Some of these guys are probably vying for our conference spots. The idea was to cluster through 4K; Ithey did a pretty good job based on what they told me; it seemed a splinter at about 3K at the hill. So, by and large, their intent was really good. I was not that disappointed. I think they executed through 3K. The goal is four, so that's where we go next. It's a great group of young people who have to get rid of some barriers in their heads. "

Koning, a senior and High Point's top finisher, comes in 17th overall at 19:07.77. Sophomore Gavin Stevens came in at 19:18.09 as High Point's second finisher. 

Jake Fiorillo, a junior, and graduate student, Aiden Morrison, finished strong together in 19:30.47 and 19:30.7, respectively as the Panther's third and fourth scorers. Junior Klaus Mangeot crossed at 19:47.33 as the fifth Panther of the day.

Sterliing Sharpe and Ben Schipul came in back-to-back at 20:05.02 and 20:06.61, while Jimmy Monney followed with a time of 20:23.54 and Zach Davis finished at 20:24.80. In Ethna Tharp's first race as a Panther, he clocked a 20:39.15 and Alex Contreras finished with a time of 20:43.27. 

Tyler Rogers and James Wallace finished the 6k with times of 22:01.20 and 22:06.52. Overall, the men finished sixth place overall at the Covered Bridge Open, hosted by App State. 

UP NEXT: On Friday, September 20th, the Panthers split and head to Raleigh, NC, for the Adidas XC Challenge and Minneapolis, MN, for the Roy Griak Invitational.