MEQUON, Wis. — The Carthage men's cross country team competed at the Ken Weidt Classic on Saturday morning, hosted by Concordia University Wisconsin. The Firebirds placed fourth in the seven-team field, led by a strong front pack effort from juniors and seniors.
 

 
Carthage collected 85 points to finish fourth overall in the field. Lawrence won the meet with 24 points, followed by Concordia Wisconsin (62) and Harper College (82) ahead of the Firebirds. Carroll (90) rounded out the top five.
 

 
Junior Michael Herres led Carthage with an 11th-place finish in 28:03.5. He was followed closely by seniors Quinn Kelly (12th, 28:16.0) and Braydon Barth (13th, 28:18.7) to give the Firebirds three runners inside the top 15. Freshman AJ Ripper (24th, 29:24.4) and sophomore Angus McClellan (25th, 29:32.6) rounded out the scoring five.
Carthage's tight front pack kept the Firebirds in the mix throughout the race, with less than 90 seconds separating their first and fifth runners.


 
"Today we were focused on our approach," said Head Coach Josh Henry, "which was centered around our pace groups working together. For the most part we executed well. The trio up front set the tone, while AJ and Angus led our chase pack—Angus showed a lot of growth from a year ago, and AJ had a strong debut at the 8K distance. Seeing the young guys buy into the race plan is exciting and bodes well for our team depth. As training progresses and the competition ramps up, I'm confident this group will take big steps in the coming weeks."
 

 
The Firebirds return to action on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Gil Dodds Invitational hosted by Wheaton College in Warrenville, Ill. The men's race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.