Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Sept. 3, 2021) – The No. 17-ranked Loras College men's cross country team saw its first-year Duhawks step up in the first race of the 2021 season as freshman Julian Watson led the team with a second-place finish and fellow newcomers Jacob Belha and David Olmos added top-five finishes at the Mt. Mercy University Corridor Clash on Friday.

Loras sat its top-seven for the first meet of the year, but the freshmen put on a display to help the Duhawks to a team victory. Watson traversed the 5,000-meter course in 16:03.0 while Belha finished fourth in 16:05.7 and Olmos placed fifth in 16:07.2. Carlo Dannenfelser was sixth with a time of 16:13.9 while Ryan Monson was the final scorer for the Duhawks, placing tenth in 16:25.7.

The Duhawks won the meet with 27 points, putting nearly 50 points between second-place finisher Cornell College.

The Duhawks are back to racing in just over a week and will preview the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Championship course on Saturday, Sept. 11. Race time is set for 11 A.M.