OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU cross country team will compete in its final dress rehearsal before the Sooner Athletic Conference meet the Evangels will run their final regular season meet on Saturday at the Mid-States Classic, hosted by Southwestern College at the Kansas Veterans Home of Winfield. The women's 6000-meter race will open the event at 10:15 a.m. before the men will compete in an 8000-meter event at 11:15 a.m.
The men's cross country team is coming off a record-breaking performance at the Dallas Baptist Old Glory Gallop in Grand Prairie, Texas on Oct. 7. Mason Baker paced the Evangels with a record-setting 6k time of 26:18.0, breaking the previous record held of 26:39.67 held by Abraham Busienei for more than a decade after setting it at the Missouri Southern Stampede on Sept. 19, 2009.
Jackson White also shot up the MACU record books in his personal-best performance, running a 27:34.40 to eclipse Busienei's third-best mark of 27:45.00 scored at the Mid-States Classic on Oct. 25, 2009.
Ryland Baker also set himself a top 10 time after crossing the finish line in 28:10.30 for the ninth-fastest 8k time in program history.
On the women's side, Gracie Sanders obliterated MACU's 5k record at the Old Glory Gallop, turning in an outstanding finish of 29th out of 287 with a time of 18:44.30. Not only was it the first ever sub 19-minute time in MACU women's cross country history, but it was also the first sub 20-minute time as it smashed the previous record held by MACU women's basketball legend Melissa Aguilar, who turned in a time of 20:26.00 in the SAC Championships in Shawnee, Oklahoma on Nov. 6, 2010.
The Evangels will utilize the meet for its preparation for the SAC Championships that will be held in Eldon Lyon Park in Bethany, Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 4.
