Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Junior Luis Lopez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) was the top finisher, with a new personal record (PR) time of 26:11.9, for the Saint Xavier University men's cross country team at the Seminole Valley Stampede hosted by Mount Mercy University (Iowa) Saturday morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Lopez placed 45^th overall and 41^st in scoring, running over 40 seconds quicker than his previous best time of 26:52.9 set last season at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championships. As a team, the Cougars finished 10^th out of 23 teams with a score of 276. No. 19 ranked Aquinas College (Mich.) had the top mark of 64, just ahead of No. 21 Cornerstone University (Mich.), with their score of 73. Aquinas also had the best individual runner, Juan David Hernandez, who posted a time of 24:35.9 in the 8K race.

• Senior Ben Morrey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) topped his old PR for the second consecutive meet, running a time of 26:15.6 to place 49^th and 45^th in scoring. He was 16 seconds quicker than his time at the Indiana Wesleyan University Twilight Invite on September 5.
• Senior Rohindeep Bhattal (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) clocked in at 26:19.2 to finish 55^th and 50^th in scoring. It was his fifth straight meet running under 27:00 minutes in an 8K event.
• Freshman Will Morrey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) joined his brother is setting a new PR, crossing the line at 26:56.6 in 80^th place, besting his old mark by nearly 45 seconds.
• Junior Andy Damon (Crestwood, Ill./Oak Forest) was in lock-step with his teammate, posting a new PR time of 26:56.9 to place 82^nd. He narrowly topped his old PR by a half a second.
• Junior Alejandro Velazquez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) PR'd as well, demolishing his previous best by over 31 seconds with his 91^st place time of 27:13.0.
• Sophomore Joey Lagattolla (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) recorded his second-best career time, crossing at 27:20.5 to finish 98^th.
• Freshman Michal Wreczycki Jr. (Palos Park, Ill./Stagg) improved his PR by three seconds after he completed the race with a time of 27:33.1 to finish 111^th overall.
• Sophomore Xavier Sananisai (Rockford, Ill./Jefferson) posted his fourth-best career mark in an 8K race at 27:58.6 to place 130^th.
• Sophomore Trey Maciejewski (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer Central) logged his second fastest career time at 28:03.6, finishing 133^rd.
• Freshman Joey D'anca (Palos Heights, Ill./St. Laurence) competing in his first collegiate 8K meet, clocked in at 29:55.9, placing 186^th.

Saint Xavier prepares for the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge hosted by No. 19 Aquinas College on Saturday, October 25. The meet is set for a 9:00 am central start at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Mich.