Finley Places 217th in First Appearance at NAIA Nationals

Tallahassee, Fla. -- Max Finley (Fr., Richville, N.Y., Secondary Education) ;posted a strong showing against the country's best harriers as he competed at the 67th Annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship Friday.

Finley placed 217th out of 326 total runners on the 8K course in a time of 26:33.2.  His time was just four seconds off his personal-best mark from the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship two weeks ago.

The freshman came out of the gate a bit slow, sitting in 288th place after the first 1,170 meters.  He quickly made his move up the standings, however, clipping off nearly 60 spots by the midway point of the race.

Finley continued to improve throughout the competition, eventually running three 1,000-meter splits in under 3:20.

Dordt won the team crown with 97 points, outdistancing defending champion Milligan (Tenn.) by 28 points.