Mustang Men Place Top 10 in 8K Field at Blazing Tiger Classic

ASHLAND, Neb. — The Mount Mercy University men's cross country team recorded a top-10 team finish at the Blazing Tiger NAIA Classic on Saturday morning, competing in an 8,000-meter field hosted by Doane University.

Ryan Mitchell led the Mustangs with a 27th-place finish in 25:29.88, pacing the team's scoring five with a 5:07-per-mile average. Mitchell maintained position within the top 30 for the final two kilometers, earning the No. 1 team point for Mount Mercy.

Brady Cortez followed closely in 32nd with a 25:36.40 finish, while Noah Gregoire clocked 25:39.09 for 35th overall. Quinn Swift finished 39th in 25:42.33, and Jonathon Williams closed out team scoring in 45th at 25:50.27.

Dylan Bledsoe (72nd, 26:14.22) and Evan Lammers (unattached) also competed, providing displacement coverage in a deep field that featured multiple nationally ranked programs.

Mount Mercy posted a team total of 172 points, placing seventh among 26 scoring teams. The Mustangs' scoring split of 0:21 between the first and fifth runners marked their narrowest compression gap of the season, underscoring the team's consistency across scoring positions.

Columbia (Mo.)'s Kalieb Redda won the individual title in 24:19.39, while St. Mary (Kan.) captured the men's team championship with a 67-point total behind five top-25 finishes.

The Mustangs' top-five average time of 25:47 represented a season-best team performance across 8,000 meters. Mount Mercy's cumulative spread positioned them third among Heart of America conference programs in the field. 

The Mustangs will next compete at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship on Nov. 8 at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, starting at 11:30 a.m.