Freshman Elijah Smith continued his strong start to the season Friday (Sept. 25), leading the Hawks men's cross country team at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri.

Smith was the first Hawk across the finish line in the Men's 8K Black race, placing 32nd overall with a time of 25:49.8. It marked the third consecutive meet in which Smith has led the Rockhurst lineup and his 8k time is fifth best in school history. 

Rockhurst finished 11th in the team standings with 326 points and posted an average time of 26:39.7 among its five scoring runners. The Hawks finished just one point behind 10th-place Colby CC and one point ahead of 12th-place Northwest Missouri State.

Senior Andrew Hartegan was the second Rockhurst runner to finish, placing 70th in 26:27.3. Sophomore Carter Tomac followed in 87th at 26:40.7, while senior Colton Ellingsworth placed 109th in 27:07.3. Junior Aidan McGarry rounded out the Hawks' scoring five with a 116th-place finish in 27:13.4. 

The squad returns to action in Lawrence, KS October 11th. 

Full Men's Results
32nd — Elijah Smith — 25:49.8
70th — Andrew Hartegan — 26:27.3
87th — Carter Tomac — 26:40.7
109th — Colton Ellingsworth — 27:07.3
116th — Aidan McGarry — 27:13.4
133rd — Braden Belk — 27:30.1
137th — Colby Goddard — 27:34.6
147th — Evan Sansom — 27:44.3
154th — Gavin Shaughnessy — 27:50.0
159th — Parker Foster — 27:54.7
163rd — Blake Borum — 27:57.4
200th — Simon Ketter — 28:34.1
214th — Charlie Ritchie — 29:03.4
227th — Ben Del Vecchio — 29:43.1