CHARLOTTE, NC -- Indiana Wesleyan University men’s cross country ran a split squad today with one team at the NAIA Preview Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina while another team participated in the Bethel Invitational in Mishawaka, Indiana.

At the NAIA Preview Invitational, Indiana Wesleyan placed fifth of 24 teams in the race. A majority of the teams that competed in Charlotte were NAIA programs which nine of them were ranked in the latest NAIA Top-25 Polls.

Indiana Wesleyan placed three runners in the top-10 of the race that featured 201 runners.

Tyler Laubach (SR/Walnutport, Pa.) was the first Wildcat across the line with a fourth place finish. He ran the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25 minutes 3 seconds. Jacob Reinking (JR/Ft. Wayne, Ind.) and John Wilson (SR/Angola, Ind.) were right behind Laubach. Reinking finished in a time of 25:12 for eighth place and Wilson was ninth in 25:13. Josh Neideck (SO/Upland, Ind.) was next for the Wildcats in 27th place with a time of 26:01 while the final runner was Alex Brown (SR/Coleman, Mich.) in 126th place with a time of 28:07.

No. 1 runner Neno Bellinotti (SO/Sweetser, Ind.) did not compete for Indiana Wesleyan.

No. 2 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) won the meet with 72 points. No. 4 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) was runner-up with 128 points and No. 21 Dalton State (Ga.) was third at 131 points. No. 12 Indiana Tech took fourth place with 149 points and No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan placed fifth with 156 points.

Four other NAIA ranked teams finished behind Indiana Wesleyan in the final standings. They were:  No. 14 Aquinas (Mich.), No. 16 Shawnee State (Ohio), No. 20 Columbia (Mo.), and No. 24 Marian (Ind.).

The other Wildcat team at the Bethel Invitational placed eighth of 14 teams.

Nathan Gerrick was the first Wildcat across the line in 21st place in the 167 runner field. Gerrick finished the 8,000-meter course in a time of 26 minutes 41 seconds. Grant Keaffaber (JR/Wabash, Ind.) was next with a time of 26:56 for 30th place and Steven Osladil (SR/Hanover, Pa.) ran a 27:02 for 35th position. Jordan Dekker (JR/St. John, Ind.) placed 47th in a time of 27:24 and the final scorer for the Wildcats was Christian Cuevas (SO/Crystal Lake, Ill.) in 52nd place when he crossed the finish line in 27:38. Rounding out the top-seven for the team was Dylan Cope (SO/Portland, Ind.) in 56th place in a time of 27:41 and Tyler Anderson (FR/Liberty Township, Ohio) in 66th place in a time of 28:16.

No. 10 Taylor (Ind.) won the Bethel Invitational with 48 points and host No. 17 Bethel (Ind.) was runner-up with 76 points. Trine (Ind.) took third place at 97 points and Goshen (Ind.) earned fourth place with 139 points. Indiana Wesleyan was the eighth place team at 185 points.

Indiana Wesleyan next competes in two weeks at the Cedarville Invitational. The race is at 4 p.m. on October 23 in Cedarville, Ohio.