The Dordt University men's cross country team earned a decisive victory at the Mount Marty Invite on Thursday, October 23, placing five runners in the top ten and securing the team title with a score of 27 points.
Truman Johnson led the 20th-ranked Defenders with a third-place finish in 25:17.56, followed by Tage Hulstein in fifth at 25:59.88. Derrek Vander Leest (7th, 26:12.02) and freshmen Hudson Hamilton (8th, 26:13.43), and Jamison Velzke (9th, 26:14.83) completed the scoring lineup.
Dordt's team time of 2:09:57.72 averaged 25:59.55 per runner, outpacing second-place Northwestern (Iowa), which finished with 62 points. Augustana (S.D.) placed third with 71 points, followed by South Dakota State (94) and Mount Marty (119).
Additional strong performances came from seniors Sam May (16th, 26:27.08) and Chase Kamp (17th, 26:27.83), who round out the Defenders top seven, further demonstrating the depth of their roster.
By the Numbers:
- five complete teams and 92 runners made up the field in today's 8K race
- Dordt's 1-5 split: 57 seconds
- Dordt's 1-10 split: 1:10
- five Dordt runners finished in the top 10; 10 Defenders in the top 20
Notes:
- this is the fifth and final meet of the regular season for the Defenders
- this was the Defenders second win of the season
- Dordt has finished among the top four teams in every meet
- Johnson has three top 10's this season; four for career
- this was Hulstein's first top 10 of the season, 6th for career
- Vander Leest has two top 10's this season, career
- Hamilton has two top 10's this season, career
- this was Velzke's first top 10 this season, career
- five Defenders ran a PR
- 10 Defenders recorded their best finish:
Up Next:
- the Defenders will next compete in the GPAC Championship on Saturday, November 8 at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb.
