HOLLAND, Mich. – Albion College sophomore Andrew Bill achieved a personal record in winning the men's 8K race in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Cross Country Jamboree.
The Berkley product completed the course in 25:08.1, improving on the 25:13.6 mark he set in the Great Lakes Regional Championships last November. Bill finished 12 seconds ahead of Mark DeJong, representing Calvin College as the race runner up.
"Andrew executed the plan perfectly," Albion Coach Derick Lawrence said, knowing the plan was for Bill to not go out too fast on a day when the temperature is above normal for this time of the year.
Adam Ditri and Beau Brockett also achieved personal records as Albion finished second to Calvin in the team standings. Albion finished with a total of 47. Calvin placed four of its runners in the top six to finish with a total of 24.
"The men were focused and ran smart," Lawrence said. "I saw a lot of heart out there. They worked well together to move up."
Ditri, a sophomore from Novi, Mich., was Albion's third man to finish. He was 12th overall, reaching the finish line in 26:19.5. Ditri set his previous college best (26:39) in Louisville, Ky., last season.
Brockett, a junior from Richmond, Mich., finished a race in less than 27 minutes for the first time in his college career. Albion's No. 7 runner, Brockett reached the finish line in 26:50.5 (25th overall). He improved on his previous best (27:57.4 in the MIAA Jamboree last year) by more than a minute.
Kiehl Smith was Albion's No. 2 runner. The sophomore was the last of the runners to finish in less than 26 minutes. He was seventh overall at 25:56.
Andrew Wittland finished right behind Ditri. He was 13th at 26:20.6.
Trey Cucuro was Albion fifth runner and he was the second first-year runner to finish. The Whitmore Lake product finished with a time of 26:52.2.
Mark Klingel was Albion's No. 6 runner. His 26:49.8 time today was just four seconds off his PR (26:45.2) set during the MIAA Jamboree last year.
Get more information on the team by following @AlbionXCTF on Twitter. General athletics news can be found @gobrits on Twitter and Albion College Athletics on Facebook
