TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The University of Dayton men's cross country had 13 runners compete in their first 8K of the season at the John McNichols Invitational on Saturday morning. They came away with seventh place out of 18 teams that competed at the meet. Bryce Conley and Calan Gizelbach were the top two finishers for the Flyers for the second week in a row. Adam Jones and Owen Pukys also made their marks in the record books with new 8K PRs.

Conley finished in 18th place with a time of 24:38.0. This time was an improvement from his first 8K of the season last fall, and a 21-second improvement from his last 8K race of the 2022 season. Gizelbach finished in 30th place with a PR time of 24:50.5. He also rose in the all-time 8K records in UD history from 16th place to 15th place.

Jones set an 8K PR as he finished in 40th place with a time of 24:59.8. This ties for 17th all-time in the Dayton cross country 8K record books, which is a 24-second improvement on his previous PR. Pukys tied for 22nd all-time as he debuted in the 8K record book with a time of 25:13.4. Owen's PR is a 49-second improvement on his previous 8K record that he set in the 2022 season. James Mroczka was the top rookie finisher for the second week in a row as he finished in 25:46.7. Mroczka was one second away from making it onto the top-50 8K times in school history in his collegiate 8K debut.

"The men are working with a great amount of discipline," said Head Coach David Dobson. "Currently, there is strong veteran leadership who are guiding that discipline and taking deliberate steps to move this team ahead."

The Flyers look forward to their next race on Saturday, September 30 as they will compete at the University of Louisville.