HUNTINGTON, W. Va. -- Entering the season ranked once again and seeking its 10th consecutive conference title all in one fell swoop, the Shawnee State men's cross country program began the 2025 season on the prowl with a promising start as three SSU men's runners placed inside the top-20, four inside the top-25 and five inside the top-30 overall of a stacked 63-runner field to help Shawnee State finish third behind Marshall and Ohio at the season-opening Thundering Herd XC Invitational, which was held at the Kennedy YMCA Center in Huntington, W. Va. Friday evening.

With its third-place finish, the Shawnee State men's cross country program, who posted 79 points, bettered No. 25 Rio Grande's 95-point output in the process to finish as the top NAIA school in the rundown. Only Marshall (38 points) and Ohio (24 points) finished better than Shawnee State from a team perspective.

Trevor Lanoy, who posted a 15:26.91, headed the charge by running a five-second personal best from the same Thundering Herd XC Invitational event in 2024. Lanoy, who finished sixth, bettered 15 NCAA Division I runners Friday evening.

Three additional Shawnee State runners nestled themselves between 15th to 22nd in the running order -- as Isaiah Lanoy (15:46.48), Eli Lengl (15:59.56) and Jerry O'Dell (16:08.76) finished 15th, 19th, and 22nd respectively. O'Dell enjoyed a massive pickup from last August's version of the Thundering Herd XC Invitational by posting a PR that was nearly 51 full seconds better than his previous personal best.

"Trevor had a great evening," Shawnee State Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Conner Flynn said. "He has a great year ahead alongside Isaiah. With Jerry and Eli, we proved that we have quality depth and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish at full strength."

Like O'Dell, Garrett Carver, who finished 30th in the field, also enjoyed a personal best in the 5K event. His 16:49.05 was over 49 seconds faster than the time that Carver posted in 2024.

Competing in his first collegiate meet, Shawnee State freshman Dakotah Sanders posted a 17:20.31 to finish 42nd, while Walker Pannell (48th), Malachi Shugert (50th) and Jared Flowers (60th) rounded out the remaining Shawnee State contingent.
  Shawnee State will turn its focus toward another high-level event Friday, Sept. 5 when the Bears head to Indiana Wesleyan University to run in the IWU Twilight Classic.