Lisle, IL — Three has turned out to be a pretty good number for the Goshen College men’s cross country team this season, as the squad claimed its second consecutive third-place finish Friday at the annual Benedictine University Eagle Invitational.

Goshen finished with just 120 total points in its number three final position, out-dueling a total 22 other squads competing in the event. The Leafs duplicated last week’s result at the Earlham College Invitational (click here for article), only this time in a much bigger and deeper crowd.

“This was a very good showing for our men’s team,” said Doug Yoder, Goshen head coach. “Our entire team has shown great improvement in the last two weeks and we are looking forward to preparing for the conference meet later this month.”

Freshman Ben Bouwman and junior Nick Adkins continued their alternating team first-place efforts, as Friday it was Bouwman that just nudged Adkins for the squad’s top position. Bouwman finished seventh overall in a time of 27:03.2, while Adkins took home ninth place in a clip of 27:05.2. Perhaps most impressive was the Leafs’ third runner to cross the finish line — junior Jake Gillette — as Gillette finished 19th overall in shaving nearly a minute off of his time from a week ago in a final 27:19.2 clip.

“Ben Bouwman and Nick Adkins were practically side by side at the finish which is great to see,” Yoder said. “Jake Gillette really stood out running the third position for us. When he runs that well, our top three are a lot to handle.”

Sophomore David Rumsey (49th overall, 28:19.2) and freshman Dietrich Eitzen (50th overall, 28:29.3) were Goshen’s final scoring runners, again flip-flopping positions from last week’s race. Freshman Nick Bouwman took home 76th place in finishing sixth for the team, while sophomore Mark Miller (111th overall) and freshman Jonathan Stuckey (120th overall) rounded off Goshen’s efforts in the 182-man event.

Elmhurst College won the team event, garnering 55 total points. North Central College finished second overall (100 points), while Concordia (WI) University’s Micah Lorenzen captured individual medalist honors in a time of 26:08.7. For a complete list of team and individual results, click here.

Goshen will next travel to Manchester College for the Manchester College Inviational next Saturday. Meet time for the men is slated for 9:45 a.m., a late change from an original 12 p.m. start time.

Goshen Individual Results
Ben Bouwman (7th) — 27:03.2
Nick Adkins (9th) — 27:05.2
Jake Gillette (19th) — 27:19.2
David Rumsey (49th) — 28:19.2
Deitrich Eitzen (50th) — 28.29.3
Nick Bouwman (76th) — 29:27.7
Mark Miller (111th) — 30:33.6
Sam Moyer (115th) — 30:46.2
Jonathan Stuckey (120th) — 30:50.6
Brent Handfield (167th) — 35:07.6