(Warsaw, IN) - The Men's Cross-Country team traveled to Warsaw, Indiana for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Cross Country National Championships on Friday, November 10. The first appearance for the program in 22 years.

The team earned a ninth-place finish with a total of 254 points, 39 points ahead of 10 place Columbia International University and 25 points behind eighth-place College of the Ozarks. The 9-place finish is the second highest finish in school's history.

The team was led by Micah Bauer (Freshman; Traverse City, MI) who finished in 12 place overall with a time of 26:18. Bauer was the highest finishing freshman in the race. Theodore Eising (Senior; Royal Oak, MI) finished second for the Cardinals with a time of 29:17. Nathan Milliman (Freshman; Ann Arbor, MI) finished right behind Eising in a time of 29:20. The trio of Cardinals was completed by Luke Bentz (Junior; Fort Wayne, IN) who finished in 29:32. Freshman Dominic Catallo (Westland, MI) rounded out the top five by finishing in a time of 31:26.

Seniors Avery Sanchez (Allen Park, MI) and Jared Stiver (Tecumseh, MI) finished off the day with finishing times of 31:57 and 37:09.

"Today was a historic day and a huge day for building our program. We have had it on our goal board since the beginning of the season to qualify and to not only make here but to finish top 10 is big. This is something they should be proud of and have know this gives us some recruiting momentum. We had a very successful fall and looking forward to see how that carries to the track," said Head Coach Dominic Santina.

Sanchez, Bentz and Eising were named to the NCCAA All Academic team. The team will take some needed rest before turning their attention to the track.