Knoxville, TN – The top-ranked University of the Cumberlands men's cross country team delivered a dominant performance Friday at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge, capturing the team title with 22 points while Luca Madeo set a new program 8K record.

Madeo led the Patriots with a runner-up finish, crossing the line in 23:33.8. His performance broke the previous Cumberlands 8K record of 23:46.5 set by Youssef Asslouj at the 2024 NAIA National Championships.

Cumberlands placed four runners inside the top five overall and all five scorers inside the top eight. James Ndayishimiye finished third in 24:03.8, followed by Noah Loeser in fourth at 24:05.3 and Collin De Julio in fifth with a time of 24:08.3. Caleb Hershey completed the scoring five with an eighth-place finish in 24:11.3.

The Patriots continued to pack the front of the field as Ryan Ehrler placed 11th in 24:19.3, Casey DeSilvey finished 14th in 24:34.3, and Kyle Crady crossed 15th in 24:40.5. Sean Crady placed 19th with a time of 24:47.3, while Giulio Romano finished 20th in 24:50.3, giving Cumberlands 10 runners inside the top 20.

Marcus Salinas was the next Patriot across the line, placing 35th in 25:19.8. Caleb Burton followed in 40th at 25:27.0, while Caden Cull finished 42nd in 25:29.0. Dathan Custar placed 44th with a time of 25:34.3, and Merwan Meleard crossed in 46th at 25:36.3.

Christopher Wells finished 62nd in 26:04.8, while Max Young rounded out the Cumberlands contingent with a 75th-place finish in 26:16.8.

The Patriots' scoring five averaged 24:00.5 and were separated by just 37.5 seconds. Cumberlands finished 44 points ahead of runner-up Milligan, which totaled 66 points. Tennessee Southern placed third with 70 points, Rio Grande finished fourth with 121, and Montreat rounded out the top five with 127.

Cumberlands returns to competition on Friday, November 6, at the Mid-South Conference Championships in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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