ockhurst men's cross country continued its strong start to the season with a fifth-place team finish at the Queen City After Dark Run in Springfield, Missouri.

The Hawks finished with 125 points and a combined team time of 1:36:18.3, placing fifth in the team standings. Rockhurst's performance comes one week after the Hawks also finished fifth at the Rim Rock Farm Classic in Lawrence, Kansas.

Freshman Elijah Smith led the Hawks individually, finishing 14th overall with a time of 18:57.0. Fellow freshman Evan Sansom followed in 22nd place at 19:11.0, giving Rockhurst two runners inside the top 25.

Sophomore Carter Tomac finished just behind Sansom, placing 25th in 19:13.0. Senior Andrew Hartegan was next for the Hawks, crossing the finish line in 19:23.0 to place 29th overall. Junior Aidan McGarry rounded out Rockhurst's scoring five, finishing 45th with a time of 19:37.0. The Hawks also received strong efforts from freshman Simon Ketter (19:40.0), senior Colby Goddard (19:41.0), sophomore Braden Belk (19:45.0), senior Colton Ellingsworth (19:46.0) and sophomore Gavin Shaughnessy (19:52.0). All 10 Rockhurst runners finished among the top 70 competitors in a large field.

The Hawks will have a couple of weeks off from competition before returning to action at the Gans Creek Classic 8K on Friday (Sept. 25) in Columbia, Missouri.