The men’s cross country team finished fifth with 215 points at the Beaver Classic, which took place in Corvallis, Saturday.

Alejandro Domiquez-Morales led the team with a time of 26:30, a 1:19 improvement from his Clark Invite time. He finished in 21 position out of 74 participants.

Alejandro Boyles and Isaac McNutt remained the other top two runners. Both of the runners set personal records at the Beaver Classic. Boyles finished with a time of 27:38, a 1:05 improvement from the Clark Invite, and McNutt finished with a time of 28:00, an improvement of 1:02.

The improvement of the team goes beyond the top performers. Nearly all the runners set personal records at the Beaver Classic. Head coach Matt Hart said he was pleased at the level of improvement.

Hart told his runners before the meet that he didn’t have as many expectations considering the level of training they’ve been through, but when all was said and done, he was pleased with their performance. For Hart, it is less about numbers, and more about his athletes pushing themselves while doing the best that they can.

Next on the men’s cross country schedule is the Southern Region Championships. The team will travel to Coos Bay Oct. 29 to compete in a small five-team championship meet.
The training leading up to the meet has been difficult for the runners.

“I’m using this as an opportunity to continue training. We’re training hard through this week and through the meet, but I still anticipate the athletes to do well. It’s a fairly runner-friendly course,” said Hart.

Hart’s main focus is the NWAACC Championship meet on Nov. 12. After the Southern Region Championships, the team has an open week where they don’t have a meet. Hart will use this time to prepare his runners for their final meet at Battle Ground, Wash.

“The NWAACC Championship meet is really what I’m training everybody for,” he said.