Covenant Men Place 4th, Women 8th At Falcon Classic

The Covenant men's cross country team was impressive on Saturday with a fourth place finish among 15 non-NCAA Division I teams, while the women placed eighth, at the Falcon Classic hosted by Montevallo.

The meet featured teams from all NCAA divisions, including Mississippi State, Samford, Chattanooga and Alabama State from Division I.

The Division I teams were scored separately, while the rest of the field was lumped together. 

The men were the highest finisher among Division III programs in the field, besting region foes in Piedmont, Berry and Birmingham Southern. Host Montevallo took the men's team title followed by fellow Division II members West Florida and Auburn-Montgomery.

Caleb Aikens again paced the Scots with his 23rd place finish overall and 8k time of 28:01.28. Matthew Tueller came in at 28:11.68 to place 25th, while Matt Seitz was 34th in the event with his collegiate-best time of 28:31.83. Micah Sneller and Caleb Keitt finished neck-and-neck for 37th and 38th place, respectively, with times of 28:52.05 and 28:52.11. 

Matthew Broussard finished 41st at 29:03.42 and Jonathan George was 64th at 29:51.50.

As a team, Covenant totaled 147 points as the Scots narrowly beat out Morehouse for fourth place out of 15 teams in the non-Division I scoring. 

On the women's side, Michelann Settle set a personal record in the 6k and had the highest finish of the day for either team by placing 17th overall with a time of 25:11.83. Lilly Smith followed closely behind to place 19th at 25:22.55, while Hannah Samuels was 34th at 26:50.95. Margaret Fitch was the fourth Covenant finisher as she placed 58th at 28:02.05 and Heather Hall was 63rd at 28:26.20.

Alexandra May (28:50.35), Caroline Pepper (28:52.46), Anna Danek (28:56.56) and Emily Robertson (29:00.78) finished consecutively in the middle of the pack for Covenant. 

Covenant accumulated 179 points for its eight-place finish among 12 teams. The Scots finished just behind USA South foe Piedmont, who was seventh with 162 points. 

Men's Results:

23rd - Caleb Aikens - 28:01.28
25th - Matthew Tueller - 28:11.68
34th - Matt Seitz - 28:31.83 - PR
37th - Micah Sneller - 28:52.05
38th - Caleb Keitt - 28:52.11
41st - Matthew Broussard - 29:03.42
64th - Jonathan George - 29:51.50
65th - Micaiah Allison - 29:51.54
76th - Elias Vedders - 30:40.03
83rd - Leif Le Mahieu - 31:11.57
94th - Zach Atchison - 32:01.54
101st - Will Richardson - 32:13.65
105th - Nathan Walker - 32:52.28
113th - Reed Vaughn - 34:23.67
116th - Michael Rawlings - 34:56.79 - PR

Women's Results:

17th - Michelann Settle - 25:11.83 - PR
19th - Lilly Smith - 25:22.55
34th - Hannah Samuels - 26:50.95
58th - Margaret Fitch - 28:02.05
63rd - Heather Hall - 28:26.20
65th - Alexandra May - 28:50.35
66th - Caroline Pepper - 28:52.46
67th - Anna Danek - 28:56.56
68th - Emily Robertson - 29:00.78
70th - Sydney Fitch - 29:06.92 - PR
76th - Hannah Ball - 30:15.56 - PR
77th - Ashleigh Baker - 30:37.24

UP NEXT

Covenant will compete in the Maryville Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 30.