STERLING HEIGHTS, MI – Zach Rose (SO, Escanaba, MI) led the Bay College Cross Country Team as he finished tenth out of 101 runners on Friday evening at the OCC Raider Invitational. Zach's time of 27:54.4 was a new personal record, and a goal he had been striving for since last season. The Norse finished in tenth place out of 13 teams.
Rose has been working hard to get to a personal goal of a sub 28-minute 8K mark. "It's been a goal of mine for a long time, since the first time I ran at Nationals [in 2020]. It was tough, it was a tough course, not quite as tough as the last one [at the Kirtland Invitational in Grayling]. The footing was a challenge as there was a lot of rock and gravel. I probably sprinted the last half mile and when I got close enough to see the times and knew I had a chance, I picked it up more. I was so exhausted."
Zach, although happy to accomplish his goal, is motivated to work even harder. "The next course should be faster, so I am aiming for 27:30. Anything in the 27:30's would be great, and really, anything faster then the time I posted would be great."
Jhalani Thornton (SO, Detroit, MI) also achieved a personal record. Thornton, who has been setting a PR every time he steps on the course, managed to get his time under the 31-minute mark. He would end up finishing 50th overall with a time of 30:44.5.
The rest of the Norse team continued their upward trend as well. Jaylen Flaniken (SO, Troy, MI) finished with a time of 34:17.9. James Hughes (FR, Milwaukee, WI) crossed the finish line in 36:35.9 while Austin Watchborn (FR, Escanaba, MI) put up a time of 39:14.0. Both Hughres and Watchborn also had personal records.
The Norse now have time to prepare for the Regional Championship that will take place in Grand Rapids, MI. That race will take place on October 29.