MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) men's cross country team opened the 2019 season on Saturday morning with a solid 7^th place finish out of 17 teams at the annual Falcon Classic hosted by the University of Montevallo (UM) at the UM Cross Country Course.
 
The Badgers finished with a total of 227 points and a team time of 2:17:15.87 over the 8,000-meter course to finish 190 points behind the team champion University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Chargers with 37 points in total and a time of 2:05:48.64. The SHC men also set a new team record for finish time average at 27:27.18.
 
Freshman Will Tate of Edgewood, Ky., paced the Badgers with a debut time of 26:17.28 to finish in 28^th position out of 170 runners as Samford University's Dillion Dean took home the laurels with a time of 24:33.38. Tate's time also placed 3^rd in the SHC Men's All-Time 8-kilometer times record book and the second fastest Badger freshman time on record.
 
Also scoring for SHC, were freshman TJ Gennari of Chelsea, Ala., in 48^th place with 36 points and a time of 26:59.77 for 12^th best in SHC history and the fourth best freshman time; senior Joe Butler of Kirkwood, Mo., at 58^th place and 44 points in 27:22.28 for the 29^th best time in SHC history; sophomore Elijah Paige from Gulfport, Miss., at 63^rd with 49 points in 27:37.80; and sophomore Conner Moore of Spanish Fort, Ala., in 94^th for 70 points at 28:58.74.
 
Other Badger competitors included sophomore Brian Pempel of Spanish Fort in 129^th position and a time of 31:26.51; freshman Aaron Foster of Wetumpka, Ala., in 137^th at 32:08.93; and junior William Kent of Spanish Fort at 145^th in 33:48.93.
 
The Badgers will next run at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic hosted by Loyola University (La.) at City Park in New Orleans, La., with a 7:45 a.m. start time.