The men's cross-country team kicked off their 2025 campaign Friday at the Lewis Early Bird Invitational in Romeoville, Illinois. The Pride battled against a deep field and secured a 4th-place team finish, highlighted by freshman Matthew breaking into the top 15.
The Basics:
- Season opener
- Held in Romeoville, Illinois
- Finished 4th place as a team
The Breakdown:
- Freshman Matthew Givens (Osceola, Ind.) led the Pride with a 13th-place finish in 19:35.82.
- Freshman Jalen Strietelmeier (/Highland, Ind.) followed close behind, placing 20th in 19:57.52.
- Junior James Snow ran a personal best to finish 23rd in 20:01.87.
- Freshman Carmelo Quintero (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) crossed in 35th with a time of 20:40.14.
- Freshman Keaton Westley (Arvada, Colo.) secured 41st in 20:54.19.
- Sophomore Julio Herrera (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) placed 51st in 21:20.47.
- Senior Brandan Bagnara (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) hit a personal best, taking 54th in 21:25.35.
- Freshman Chase Fajman (Dyer, Ind.) clocked 21:47.45 for 60th place.
- Freshman Dylan Guilford (Winamac, Ind./Winamac Community) ran 21:50.05 for 61st.
- Junior Josh Tuck finished 62nd at 21:52.00.
- Freshman Manolo Mellouk (Highland, Ind./Andrean) claimed 63rd in 21:59.77.
- Freshman Zachary Cooper placed 65th in 22:13.10.
- Junior Hayden Podlin (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central HS) crossed in 81st with 23:49.74.
- Senior Matt Clark (Morris, Ill./) finished 82nd in 23:52.28.
- Sophomore Conor Gross (Du Quoin, Ill./Du Quoin) took 86th with a time of 24:25.49.
Up Next:
The Pride will return to action on Friday, September 13, traveling to Aurora, Illinois, for the
Spartan Classic hosted by Aurora University.
