PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Davis & Elkins Men's Cross Country Team started the 2023 season with record-breaking individual and team performances as they finished third in the Panther Invitational, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh.

The men were first to race, and senior Henry Schmidt set a cross country 5K school record, running 14:35 to finish seventh overall. Schmidt was the highest finishing competitor outside of a Division I institution. Also, running under the prior 5K record was junior Carter McKenna (14:49, 14th), sophomore Jan Thewes (14:55, 16th), and junior Gabe Conder (14:59, 22nd).

Rounding out the top seven on the day were junior Jackson Gibson (15:01, 23rd), sophomore Konnor Allison (15:04, 24th), and sophomore Cooper Gibson (15:14, 27th).

The Senators showed their depth across the board with an additional six runners under the sixteen-minute barrier. Junior Thijs Terlouw (15:15, 29th), junior Pablo Velt (15:18, 31st), freshman Charlie Stephenson (15:21, 33rd), freshman Slate Swiger (15:26, 36th), junior Ryan Rasco (15:42, 39th), and sophomore Chris Lucas (15:42, 40th) and dipped under 16:00.
D&E's team scoring for the top five runners was a school record 14:52 average.

The men finished third of five teams in the highly-competitive field, finishing behind only Division I Pittsburgh and nationally-ranked Division III Carnegie Mellon. They were able to put considerable distance between themselves and the Atlantic Region's fourth-ranked Slippery Rock. D&E was the sixth-ranked team in the preseason poll but should move up in the next ranking.

Full individual and team results can be found here: https://tfrrs.org/results/xc/22392/Panthers_Opener#event141366

Up next
Both D&E cross country teams will be back in action September 15 when they travel to Huntington for the Thundering Herd Invitational hosted by Marshall University.