HUNTINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana Wesleyan University men’s cross country team placed five runners in the top-10 to win the program’s fourth consecutive Crossroads League Championship on Saturday in Huntington, Indiana.

Race Day Details

• Team Finish:  Indiana Wesleyan - 1st of 9
• Team Scores:  1. Indiana Wesleyan - 32   2. Marian - 68   3. Taylor - 79
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan No. 5   |   Marian No. 15   |   Taylor No. 17   |   Bethel No. 22
• Race Length:  8,000-meters
• Location:  Huntington, Indiana
• Brief:  The Indiana Wesleyan University men’s cross country team placed five runners in the top-10 to win the program’s fourth consecutive Crossroads League Championship on Saturday in Huntington, Indiana.

What Went Down

• Indiana Wesleyan raced to a Crossroads League championship with 32 points on Saturday and defeated runner-up No. 15 Marian by 36 points.
• There were four NAIA Top-25 teams competing for the Crossroads League championship. Indiana Wesleyan was the top-ranked team at No. 5 with Marian No. 15, Taylor No. 17, and Bethel at No. 22.
• Neno Bellinotti (SO/Sweetser, Ind.) was the first Wildcat to cross the line in the 8,000-meter race. He was the individual runner-up in the 121 runner race with a time of 25 minutes 33 seconds.
• Jacob Reinking (JR/Ft. Wayne, Ind.) was close behind Bellinotti with a time of 25:42. He earned third place.
• Tyler Laubach (SR/Walnutport, Pa.), Josh Neideck (SO/Upland, Ind.), and John Wilson (SR/Angola, Ind.) all cracked the top-10. Laubach was 8th place in 26:10, Neideck earned 9th place in 26:15, and Wilson placed 10th in 26:17.
• John Wilson, the No. 5 runner for the Wildcats on Saturday, finished ahead of every other teams’ No. 2 runner.
• The Wildcats’ sixth and seventh runners placed 15th and 16th place. Steven Osladil (SR/Hanover, Pa.) was 15th in 26:38 and Nathan Gerick (JR/LaPorte, Ind.) was 16th at 26:39.
• Six Wildcats earned All-Crossroads League honors on Saturday. Neno Bellinotti, Jacob Reinking, Tyler Laubach, Josh Neideck, John Wilson, and Steven Osladil all earned the honor by placing in the top-15 of the league championship race.

Coaches Corner

• “It’s one thing to be the favorite and it’s another thing to pull it off. Matt Hall ran a great race for Taylor to win and Neno Bellinotti struggled a little bit. But with two weeks left we will get Neno ready for nationals. Jacob Reinking was third with a phenomenal effort. And we had five finish ahead of everybody’s No. 2 runner and our seven in front of everybody’s No. 3 runner. It showed our great depth.”

• IWU head coach John Foss

Extra! Extra!

• The Wildcats earn the Crossroads League automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship in two weeks by winning the championship.
• The Crossroads League championship is the 22nd in program history. Indiana Wesleyan has won four straight and 10 since the 2000 season.

Next Time Out

• Indiana Wesleyan has earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship. That will be contested on November 21 in Charlotte, North Carolina.