NEWS

 

DAVIDSON – On Friday night, the Davidson College men’s cross country team will open its 2024 season at the Elon Opener at 8:45 p.m. The Wildcats are entering their second season under Director of Cross Country & Track and Field Matt Stuck and Men’s Cross Country Coach Andrew Allden.

This year’s roster fields 19 student-athletes led by five seniors Grahm Breiter, Kenny Eheman, Owen Lekki, Jack Muldoon, and Nathan Stewart. The team also returns John Cooper who made key contributions as a freshman.

“Overall, looking at cross country, I’m excited,” said Stuck. “We have some strong upperclassman leaders and a lot of talented runners all over the roster.”

Top Returners
Breiter and Cooper led the way last year as each had a pair of top-five finishes. Breiter won the SAC Preview at Lenoir-Rhyne to kick off last season and finished fifth at the Queen City Invite. He also recorded his personal-best in the 8K at the A-10 Championships with a time of 25:25.6. Cooper, who enters his second year as a ‘Cat, had a third-place finish at the SAC Preview and finished fourth at Queens. The California native also had the team’s fastest mark in the 8K with his time of 25:15.5 at Queens.

“Grahm and John had great seasons last year,” said Men’s Cross Country Coach Andrew Allden. “I’m excited to see them take it to another level with another year under their belt.”

Fresh Faces
New to the team are eight incoming freshmen. Parker Bartlett is a Mount Gilead, Ohio, product who led his team to a state championship in 2022. Harry Carter, from Jasper, Tenn., helped his cross country squad to three straight state titles from 2020 through 2023.

Ryan Collins, from Baltimore, Md., was an all-conference performer at Gilman School and owned the third-fastest time in the 5K in school history (15:57). Jack Fischer, from New Albany, Ohio, was a first team all-district performer and the team’s MVP for cross country his senior year.

Hailing from Flagstaff, Ariz., Jack Flugstad was a first team all-state selection in 2023 and the cross country team’s captain. Ezra Minard, from Marietta, Ohio, was an all-state honoree in 2022, earned all-district in 2022 and 2023, and won the Twin State League two years in a row.

Eli Roth comes to Davidson from Columbia, S.C., where he was an all-state selection as a senior and helped Dreher High School to a 2022 state title. Lastly, Alex Thole was an all-state pick and conference champion for East Grand Rapids High School in Michigan.

“Our freshman class has some really experienced cross country runners,” said Allden. “This group has the potential to make a substantial impact for us this year.”

2024 Schedule
The men’s cross country team will compete in five events before the conference championships in early November in Richmond, Va. All five meets are within the Southeast Region, including their meet at Winthrop on Sept. 28 which is the site of the NCAA Southeast Regional this fall.

The ‘Cats open at Elon Friday, then travel down I-77 for a Sept. 13 meet at Queens. After visiting Winthrop, they head to East Carolina the following Friday (Oct. 4). The ‘Cats wrap up the regular season at USC Upstate on Oct. 19.

“This year we are going to take a huge step toward becoming a competitive team in the A-10 and building long term success in cross country,” Stuck said.