Grand Rapids, Mich. – After running his fastest race of the season in the previous meet, Senior Alejandro Velazquez (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence) improved on his mark today with a new personal record (PR) time of 27:11.0 for the Saint Xavier University men's cross country team at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge hosted by Aquinas College (Mich.) at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Mich. Velazquez bested his previous time in an 8K race by two seconds, 27:13 set last season at the Seminole Valley Stampede in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He finished 51^st overall, 47^th in scoring, for the Cougars as they competed in the White Race. SXU placed 10^th out of 22 teams with 289 points. No. 12 ranked Indiana Wesleyan University posted the best team score at 64 with two runners in the Top 10.

• Sophomore Will Morrey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) logged his fastest time of the season, and second-quickest ever, at 27:15.0 to finish 59^th, 54^th in scoring.
• Junior Logan Schmidt (Bolingbrook, Ill./Joliet Junior College/Bolingbrook) demolished his old PR by more than 37 seconds, clocking in at 27:20.5 for a 65^th place draw, 58^th in scoring.
• Senior Andy Damon (Crestwood, Ill./Oak Forest) crossed the finish line with a season-best time of 27:24.0 to place 69^th, 60^th in scoring.
• Freshman Marcos Rico (Evergreen Park, Ill./Westerville) also smashed his previous best mark as he finished at 27:41.5, 47 seconds faster than his last race. He was 83^rd overall and 70^th in scoring.
• Junior Joey Lagattolla (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) set a new season-best with his time of 27:58.8, placing 107^th.
• Junior Trey Maciejewski (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer Central) booked his quickest time of the year, checking in with a time of 28:03.3 to finish 112^th.
• Sophomore Josh Bosstel (Portage, Ind./Portage) was right behind his teammate, crossing at 28:51.0 in his second career 8K race.
• Junior Xavier Sananisai (Rockford, Ill./Jefferson) made his season debut with a time of 28:47.5.
• Sophomore Sam Slana (Oak Lawn, Ill./Trinity Christian/Oak Lawn Community) hammered his previous best in an 8K race by nearly two and a half minutes, crossing the finish line at 31:56.5 for a new PR.
• Senior Nathaniel Macias (Oak Lawn, Ill./Trinity Christian/Oak Lawn Community) joined his teammates in establishing new PR's as he bested his old mark of 33:47.7 set on the same course two years ago while competing for Trinity Christian College (Ill.). He was 52 seconds faster today with his time of 32:56.5.

Saint Xavier gears up for the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Championships hosted by University of St. Francis (Ill.) on Saturday, November 7. The meet takes place at Channahon Community Park in Channahon, Ill.