Toney Sets PR by Two Minutes to Lead SMC Men's Cross Country
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - At the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, the SMC men's cross country team had a very successful performance. For the first time in program history, all five of the scoring runners for SMC were under the 30:00 mark for 8k.
On the day, six Pioneers recorded a PR, including an astonishing two-minute PR by the top finisher, Gabriel Toney, who clocked an 8k time of 28:11.4.
The team race was tightly contested as Milligan edged Cumberlands as one point and :33 separated the top two teams. It was decided by the fifth runner for the two teams with Milligan getting a 25th-place finish from senior Sylas Chambers, who edged out Ryan Ehrler of Cumberlands by seven tenths of a second. Bryan Woodall of Milligan was the individual winner with a 22-second victory.
For the Pioneers, the reigning CAC Men's Runner of the Week Caleb Williams, clocked a time of 28:32.9 (115th), followed by Ryan Hunter in 28:39.9 (118th), Luke Kochanowicz in 28:54.7 (120th) and Omarion Ocampo-Rios in 29:00.7 (122nd) to round out the top five for SMC.
Also, for the Pioneers, Dylan Seppala finished in 29:55.1; followed by Steven Strange in 30:01.2, Andre Kelly in 30:06 and Marc Mixtega in 30:24.4.
Next, in two weeks, SMC will compete at the CAC Championships on Friday, Nov. 8 hosted by Florida College at Holloway Park in Tampa, Fla.
