CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., — The High Point Panthers men's cross country team competed in the 10k at the NCAA Southeast Regionals Friday morning, in what is the team's final meet of the season. The Panthers finished in 18th place. This is the final cross country meet in the head coaching career of Mike Esposito.
High Point was led by junior Avery Crowell who placed 84th overall with a time of 31:33.3. Crowell placed 40 spots higher in the regional meet than he did last year while setting a collegiate personal record time in the 10k.
Head Coach Mike Esposito: "Today was a microcosm of our season. We had one last opportunity to group up as a team, but never really did so throughout the 10K. Gavin [Stevens] and Avery [Crowell] have been so consistent for us all season. Gavin got aggressive early today, which I really can't complain about. Next step is to trust his fitness and complete the task. Our three freshmen and Ari [Snyder] never got aligned like I thought they could and would. So, by them not grouping up, they left some meat on the bone. I love this group and look forward to helping them develop in Track. The bar continues to rise in our sport, and we need to do what is needed to meet and exceed that standard. We have the student athletes and all the resources to compete at the highest level. So as we told the group, it's time to get to work."
Fellow Junior Gavin Stevens (31:52.5) placed second for the Panthers cracking the top 100. Closely behind Stevens was freshman Simon Triezenberg who finished exactly three seconds behind with a 31:55.5 finish.
Blake Nicholson continued his improvement throughout the season and clocked in a time of 32:03.9. Max Bonilla, Big South Conference Freshman of the Year, recorded a 32:33.8 finish, and sophomore Ari Snyder saw a time of 32:39.3.
For the Panthers, although the ultimate goal may not have been met, finished one place higher than they did in the 2024 Southeast Regional. They did so with a younger team this year with four of the six runners being underclassmen. High Point placed second amongst Big South teams in the regional.
#GoHPU x #DefendTheTeam
