SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Trinity Cross Country secured their second berth into the NCCAA National Cross Country Championships, as the men's squad posted a season-best result at the Bethel Pilot Invite on Friday, held at St. Partick's County Park in South Bend.
The Trolls earned a 5th-place team finish in the men's 8k, scoring a season-low 130 points on the day. Jacob Brouwer led the way for Trinity as the top finisher for the third time this year; the sophomore finished 18th overall, with a personal-best time of 28:24.1.
Senior Aitor Moya also finished under the 29-minute mark, posting a time of 28:56.3 to finish 23rd overall. Jeremiah Klompien (29:30.9), Jesus Portilla (29:33.4), and Cristian Contreras (29:34.2) all finished with four seconds of each other, placing 28th, 30th, and 31st respectively to finish out the scoring for the Trolls.
In the women's 5k, Trinity would finish 4th in the nine-team field, collecting 98 points. Senior Jordyn Fleener placed 5th overall, her best individual result since 2022. Fleener clocked in at 19:59.3 to set a new personal record.
Ari Juarez placed 16th, with a time of 21:19.2, and Maddy Butler also recorded a sub-22 time, placing 25th at 21:37.7 Ava Vlietstra (22:01.1) and Jasmine Orozco (22:25.4) placed 31st and 34th to round out the top five for the Trolls.
Trinity will close out the regular season in two weeks, when they compete at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge on Oct. 25, hosted by Aquinas in Grand Rapids, Mich.