FORT WAYNE — Patrick Statzer paced Wright State with a 21st-place finish in the men's 8K championship as the Wright State men's cross country team turned in an sixth-place overall finish and the Raider women were 11th at the 2025 Horizon League Championships on Saturday at the Mastodon Cross Country Course in Fort Wayne.
Statzer turned in a time of 24:38.6 on the way to his 21st-place mark, shaving more than a minute off his finishing time at last year's HL Championship where he also led the Raider men.
Shelby Hept led the Wright State women in the women's 6k race, finishing 32nd with her 22:18.6 time. Hept trimmed off nearly a minute and a half better than her mark from last season.
The Raiders saw four total runners finish in the Top 30 of the men's race, with the trio of
Blake Rodgers (25, 24:41.3),
Alex McCarty (26, 24:46.8) and
Michael Gale (30, 24:46.8) all crossing the line step-for-step.
Evan McPherson (35, 24:56.4) and
Emmitt Slabach (37, 24:58.7) also each turned in sub-25 minute marks to round out the top six individuals for the Raider men.
On the women's side behind Hept,
Kaitlyn Miller finished 37th at 22:28.6 and
Sydney Thompson was also under 23 minutes at 22:44.6 in 54th. The Wright State women had three runners within two seconds to round out their top six individuals, with
Samantha Seas (75, 23:04.0),
Kaitlin Thomas (77, 23:04.2) and
Elle Lambert (78, 23:06.3) all stride-for-stride across the line.
The Raiders now turn their attention to the Great Lakes Regional Championship on Friday, November 14, in Evansville, Indiana. The top two teams from each regional will automatically advance to the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
