Men's Cross Country opens at George Kyte Classic
September 4, 2021 - 5:00 pm | Dylan Kessler
Flagstaff, Ariz. - The Thunderbird men's cross country team kicked off their 2021 season at the Geoge Kyte Classic at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, hosted by Northern Arizona University. This was the men's first cross country race since the 2019 Cross Country National Championships after their 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.
The 4.5-mile race featured 96 runners from NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA teams. Mesa took third place with 77 points out of all non-NCAA Division I teams in the open team scoring, beating out Central Arizona College (99 points), Pima CC (134 points), and Phoenix College (183 points). Fort Lewis College out of Colorado was first in the open team scoring with 31 points, while Embry Riddle (AZ) was second with 41 points.
Caden Resendez was the top Thunderbird finisher, placing ninth with a time of 24:37. Aiden Tinen (21st, 25:38), Connor King (24th, 25:55), Masen Hofmann (25th, 26:02), and Yotuel Garcia (28th, 26:09) rounded out the five scorers for Mesa.
"It was a great start to the season," says Head Men's Cross Country Coach Daniel Pescador. "It was a good challenge to start off the season racing at 7,000 feet. I wanted to see them compete and work together, and they executed that well. It gave us a good outlook on where we're at right now and on what areas we can focus on to improve."
The T-Birds will travel to Prescott, Arizona next Saturday to compete in the Embry Riddle Invitational.
George Kyte Classic Final Results
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