Marion, Ind. - The fifth-ranked Marian men's cross country program opened their 2025 race season on Friday evening, placing third in the annual Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Invite. The Knights' third-place finish is the best-ever in program history at the event, as Marian earned six ranked wins on their night.
Marian opened their season with a 17-2 mark, coming in third behind Crossroads League rivals No. 3 Taylor and No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan. Marian's efforts earned wins on the night over No. 13 IU-East, No. 21 21 Goshen, No. 24 Shawnee State, and No. 25 Rio Grande, with additional victories scored over receiving vote teams Cornerstone and Indiana Tech. Indiana Wesleyan defended its home course, winning 42-81 over Taylor, while the Knights totaled 110 points.
Tristan Trevino and Charles Leedke paced Marian in the meet, finishing 15th and 16th as the top-finishers. Trevino finished his 8K race in 25:13.4, with Leedke crossing the line 0.3 seconds later.
Benjamin Riehle cracked a top-20 finish with his 20th overall placement, clocking a time of 25:19.5.
Benjamin Moster joined Trevino, Leedke, and Riehle in the top-25 with his 22nd-place finish, crossing in a time of 25:20.4.
Clark Chustz placed 38th for Marian as the fifth runner on the team, while
Marc Hernandez finished 41st overall. Chustz ran a time of 25:36, while Hernandez clocked a time of 25:40.1. The Knights'
Nick Frank rounded out the team scoring, as he finished seventh on the team and 83rd overall, finishing in a time of 26:21.80.
Lucas Steward (85th),
Alex Lopez (97th), and
Preston Markley (98th) were the final Knights to place in the top-100 on the night.
Completing Marian's efforts in the event were:
Rick Williams (115th),
Matthias Smith (138th),
Jake Cooper (155th),
Mason Piatt (191st),
Everett Carlisle (198th),
Landon Willis (214th), Matthew Hemmerling (224th), and
Alex Mundt (248th).
20 teams in total and 304 individual athletes competed in the IWU Twilight Invite.
The Knights will next compete on September 27, traveling to Wisconsin-Parkside, competing in the Rangers' Lucian Rosa Invite.
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