By Kerry Moynihan
With the PSAC Championships rolling into action in November, the KU men’s cross-country team has new faces making a name on the roster.
Freshman Steve Maine has made headlines in his first year finishing eighth in KU’s season opener. Maine was also named PSAC Athlete of the Week in September, and was the first to cross the finish line at 25:10:11 for a 1.68-second victory.
As for the team, KU has been able to bring back familiar faces the cross- country squad this season. KU landed sixth at their DII/DIII Challenge home event—a meet that was more difficult in the rainy weather. Redshirt freshman Chris Coates crossed the finish line to place 30th, and junior Jack Inglis made the top 40 in 27:38, finishing second for KU. Redshirt senior Alex Watson also placed 44th in 27:57 and junior Brian Taylor ran in two spots after in 28:03. Following these three runners, six Golden Bears secured a 48th, 53rd, 54th, 56th and 60th place at the meet.
KU finished 26th at the Paul Short Invite at the beginning of October. This meet, which composed of a mix of 40 different teams and was hosted by Lehigh University, is one of the largest cross-country meets in the nation. Competing in the College Men Brown division, KU finished with 721 points and an average time of 26:49 in the 8K event. This meet was another one of Maine’s most successful, as he came in 25:31 for 21st place and was the only Golden Bear to finish in the top 100. Coates, Gum and Inglis followed, coming in at 157th, 175th, and 194th in the race.
For their last meet before the PSAC Championships, the Golden Bears successfully placed sixth at the Lock Haven University River Run. With five Kutztown runners placing in the top 50, the Golden Bears placed sixth- out of 16 for the second consecutive year.
Hoping to move forward, the Golden Bears will head to the PSAC Championships on Saturday with a young roster, ready to run.
