DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - Eastern Men's Cross Country competed in its second race of the season at the Aggie Open hosted by Delaware Valley University. The Eagles placed fifth out of nine competing teams with a score of 147.

Heading into the race, the Eagles' goal was preview the course they would run later this fall for the MAC Championships.

"The course proved to be pretty technical and difficult," Smith said. "With that being said, today was all about competing and learning the course. We want to enter MACs knowing what to expect and how to run."

In its second race in two weeks, Smith was pleased with how his group competed and improved from its opening race at LVC. Senior Ryle Mellinger recorded a top-10 finish with a time of 27:17.4. Robert Walton was second on the Eagles with a time of 28:45.3. First-year Joshua Knox-Wagner ran his best time so far at 29:16.8, and Ryan Edde also recorded at PR at 30:06.8.

"Our guys had a great day and were able to put some missing pieces together from last week," Smith continued. "Today was very insightful for how we should mentally and physically prepare for November. Our guys did a great job of running a smart race and moving through the field in the later stages of the race. The next step of the season will be the fun part, where we get to travel to some fast courses and boost our confidence before heading into championship season. It was a great time seeing them out there enjoying the competition despite the challenging conditions."

Eastern will race again in two weekends at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem.