DEARBORN, Mich. – The University of Michigan-Dearborn men's cross country team competed at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championship Meet Saturday at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Mich., as the Wolverines finished with their best team performance at the event, taking sixth.
UM-Dearborn was led, as it has been all season, by freshman Ryan Exell, who finished in 15th. For his efforts this season, Exell was named the WHAC Men's Cross Country Newcomer of the Year, it was announced by the conference on Saturday. Exell is the first Wolverine to receive the honor.
Exell has had a tremendous freshman season, setting a new program record for an 8k race with a time of 25:20.25 at the Jayhawk Invitational on Oct. 11 in Muskegon, Mich., one week after leading the Wolverines to the program's first team title at the Lansing Invite.
Exell and the rest of the Wolverines await the announcement of qualifiers for the NAIA National Championships on Nov. 17 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The qualifiers will be revealed by the NAIA on Wednesday.
Additional WHAC Cross Country Honors:
Men:
Luke Arreola - WHAC Champion of Character
Sean Fisher, Jared Zella - WHAC All-Academic Team
Women:
Kaylee Kozlowski - WHAC Champion of Character
Brittaney Bateman, Olivia Cottom, Kayla Dela Cruz, Marina Goocher, Kaylee Kozlowski, Lauron Sanders - WHAC All-Academic Team
