ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas finished second out of six Division III teams Friday at the Concordia Cross Country Classic.
At Old Settlers Park, three Celts finished among the top 22 runners (and were credited with top 20 scores) as the Celts finished fourth overall behind two Division II programs, and third-place Hardin-Simmons, an NCAA Division III program.
Freshman runner Lucas Wolf (FR/Katy, Texas) was the first Celt across the finish line, finishing the 8K meet with a time of 28 minutes, 50.7 seconds, good for 17th place individually out of more than 100 runners. He was the second Division III runner to complete the course, only 3.6 seconds behind Lorien Nightengale of LeTourneau, who finished in 16th place.
"We had a plan going into the race that with each mile we would progressively get faster," Wolf said. "The last mile was our strongest while other people were falling back."
Alonzo Corral (FR/Pasadena, Texas) and Oscar Padilla (SO/Houston, Texas) were the next Celts across the finish line, claiming 21st and 22nd place overall. Corral finished with a time of 29:06.1, while Padilla was right behind him with a time of 29:07.3. Corral and Padilla were awarded 18 and 19 points, respectively.
UST's Michael Skinner (SO/Houston, Texas) was the next Celt to finish the race, clocking in with a time of 30:32.7, good for 39th place. Jonathon Blanco (FR/Houston, Texas) (63rd place, 53 points) rounded out UST's top five with a time of 33:36.8. Antonio Mata (SR/Angleton, Texas) also finished the race for the Celts with a time of 35:00.4.
The Celts finished ahead of two Division II squads (Angelo State and Texas A&M–Kingsville) in the team standings, and also finished ahead of four Division III teams, including conference opponent Schreiner.
"This race was a big confidence booster," Wolf said. "It helps us to know that we can continue to progress as a team."
The Celts return to action Saturday when they compete at the Our Lady of the Lake Cross Country Invitational in San Antonio, Texas.
