Cross Country | 10/15/2016 3:43:00 PM

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The San Francisco men's cross country team previewed the NCAA National Championships course and raced to a solid finish in the stout field on Saturday afternoon. Paced by Alex Short's seventh place individual finish, USF raced to ninth in the field of 40 teams from across the nation who came to compete at the Adidas Pre-National Invitational on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.

Short, a senior from Bicknacre, England, ran to a time of 24:11.2 to finish in the Top 10, 36 seconds behind the men's champion, Oregon's Edward Cheserek.

"Alex was impressive as he ran an extremely patient race and made his way to the front of the field," noted USF head coach Helen Lehman-Winters after the race. "He really put things together and this was by far his best race in a USF uniform."

The USF duo of Edward Shepherd and Ben Alcock turned in Top 50 times in the field of 263 athletes, with Mohamed Aziz and Ryan Driscoll crossing the line fourth and fifth for the Dons to help the squad to the ninth place finish. Hugh Nicklason and Caleb McClain rounded out the USF competitors in Terre Haute.

The Dons bested regional opponents California and Cal Poly in the team standings, as well as produced higher finishes than ranked teams of No. 7 Portland (32nd), No. 13 Indiana (36th) and  No. 15 Eastern Kentucky (22nd).

"Our men ran very solid in a densely-packed competitive race, and the team established momentum going into the conference championships in two weeks," added Lehman-Winters. "We have to fix a couple things, but given all the challenges we faced leading up to the race, we are very optimistic and motivated for the championship season."

Next up for the Dons is a trip to San Diego for the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships, slated to be contested at first-year race host Tecolote Shores Park on Oct. 28, with NCAA West Regionals (Nov. 11) and Championships (Nov. 19) looming in the upcoming month.

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USF Results –
Men's 8K Blue Race – 9th place (323 points)
7. Alex Short – 24:11.2
43. Edward Shepherd – 24:46.5
47. Ben Alcock – 24:49.4
81. Mohamed Aziz – 25:08.9
145. Ryan Driscoll – 25:38.7
147. Hugh Nicklason – 25:39.0
195. Caleb McClain – 25:59.1