No. 1 Trojans Finish Second at Louisville Classic

LOUISVILLE – The No. 1 Taylor men's cross country team turned in a solid performance Saturday morning at the Louisville Classic. The Trojans raced against high-level competition including NCAA Division I, Division II and top-ranked NAIA teams. The Purple and Gold finished 2nd-of-13 teams.

The Trojans competed in the Blue race and tallied a total of 75 points. Finishing ahead of TU was Division II Lee University with 30 points. Taylor topped every NAIA school in the race, including No. 20 Cornerstone in fourth and No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan in fifth.

Taylor logged the third-fastest team time in program history at 2:07:01. The Purple and Gold had three runners in the top-20 and six runners in the top-30.

Five Trojans turned in career personal-best times including Alex Helmuth, Luke Rovenstine, Nathan Streitmatter, Nathan Holst and Benjamin Eiffert.

Alex Helmuth led the Taylor squad. The junior finished in the top-five and crossed the line at 25:04.8 in fourth place overall.

Derek Van Prooyen and Luke Rovenstine finished stride for stride in 16th and 17th place respectively. Van Prooyen clocked a time of 25:25.4. Rovenstine, setting a 22-second personal-record, logged 25:25.8.

Connor White placed 21st overall and recorded a time of 25:32.6. Josh Roth rounded out TU's scoring five, claiming 23rd place with a time of 25:35.6.

Daniel Gerber grabbed 24th place in 25:44.9. Sam Hardy secured 45th place with a mark of 26:27.1.

The No. 1 Trojans (38-4) will return to action on October 24 for the Midwest Cross Country Challenge on their home course in Upland, Indiana.