WEBSTER GROVES – In today's fifth Tuesday Top 5, which delves into some of the top five statistical lists in the history of Webster University Athletics, we look at the Top 5 finishes for men's cross country at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships since the league began offering the sport in 1990. These are based solely on position finish in the in the race and not the time posted.
Today's Tuesday Top 5 looks at the Top 5 finishes by a Gorlok men's cross country runner at the SLIAC Championships Meet since 1990. Since 1990, Webster has had four different runners place in the Top 5 of the SLIAC meet, including two Gorloks – Ethan Jeffries (2013) and
Nathan Freyling (2019) - recording runner-up finishes at the SLIAC Championships. In fact, since 1990, Webster has had just seven runners finish in the Top 7 of the SLIAC Championship Meet and earn First-Team All-SLIAC honors.
Ethan Jeffries (2013) … Jefferies was the first Webster men's cross country runner to post a runner-up finish at the conference championship meet. Jeffries was the runner-up at the 2013 SLIAC Championships that was held in Hillsboro, Ill. Jeffries finished nearly 47 seconds behind the champion as he ran an 8K time of 25:18, which at the time was the second fastest 8K time in school history and is now the third fastest time in the program's history. Wylie Mangelsdorf of Principia won the league's individual title with a league record 8K time of 24:30. As a team, Webster finished fifth out of six teams with 91 points. Jeffries became just the second-ever Gorlok to earn First-Team All-SLIAC honors in men's cross country.
Nathan Freyling (2019) … Just five years after Jeffries finished as the runner-up at the SLIAC Cross Country Championships, Freyling placed as the runner-up at the 2019 championship meet held at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. Freyling finished nearly 13 seconds behind the champion as he ran an 8K time of 26:08.16, which is the eighth fastest 8K time in school history and the third fastest in school history at the SLIAC Championships. Dylan Goodyear of Greenville won the individual championship as he ran an 8K time of 25:56.02. At the 2019 meet, Webster placed third overall as they tallied 52 points. Freyling repeated as a First-Team All-SLIAC selection as he also earned the honor in 2018 and is the only men's cross country runner in program history to earn two First-Team All-SLIAC accolades.
Nathan Freyling (2018) … Freyling makes it on this list twice thanks to posting a fourth place finish at the 2018 SLISC Championships that were held at the Litchfield Country Club in Litchfield, Ill. At the 2018 meet, Freyling ran an 8K time of 27:14.05 to finish fourth overall. Greenville's Dylan Goodyear was the individual champion as he ran the course in a time of 25:55.54, while Principia's Abe Ott was second with a time of 26:38.11. The fourth place finish was the third best for a Gorlok men's runner in a SLIAC Cross Country Championship Meet. Freyling's fourth place finish helped the Gorloks to a runner-up finish as a team as they scored 57 points to finish 33 points behind Greenville, who scored 24 points to earn its third consecutive SLIAC title. The runner-up finish for Webster is tied for the best in school history as the Gorloks also placed second in 2014.
Derrick McKee (2008) … McKee is the first-ever Gorlok men's cross country runner to earn First-Team All-SLIAC honors as he earned that honor in 2008 after placing fifth overall at the SLIAC Championships, which were held in Hillsboro, Ill. At the 2008 SLIAC Championships, McKee ran a personal best 8K time of 27:25 to finish in fifth place. He was 35 seconds behind the individual champion, Rodney Oyler of Greenville, who ran a time of 26:50. For his efforts, McKee become the program's first-ever First-Team All-SLIAC selection and just the second Gorlok to ever earn All-SLIAC honors in cross country as Dan Scott was a Second-Team All-SLIAC in 1990 after finishing 13th at the SLIAC Championships. As a team, Webster did not score as they only had runner compete in the meet.
Jason Hickson (2014) … Hickson is the second of two Gorloks to earn fifth place finishes in the SLIAC Cross Country Championships as he placed fifth at the 2014 championships, which were held at Forest Park in St. Louis. At the 2014 SLIAC Championships, Hickson recorded an 8K time of 26:50, which at the time was the fourth fastest by a Gorlok at the conference meet. With his finish, he earned First-Team All-SLIAC honors for the first time in his career as he was a Second-Team selection in both 2012 and 2013. Hickson is the only Gorlok men's cross country runner in school history to earn three All-SLIAC accolades.
Please remember to check back each Tuesday during the fall of 2020 for our newest edition of Tuesday Top 5.
