VMI Men finish strong at SoCon Championship

MILL SPRING, N.C. – The VMI men's cross country team competed hard en route to an eighth-place finish at the 2025 Southern Conference Cross Country Championship Saturday morning at the Tryon Equestrian Park in Mill Spring, North Carolina.

Senior Ben Hagerich led the way with a 23rd-place individual mark with an 8K time of 25:59.40, just two seconds off his personal record for a cross country 8K course. Freshman Nicholas Russo had an impressive finish in 44th place in 26:58 and junior Colin Crenshaw was the third Keydet to cross the finish line in 50th place in 27:17.

Complete Results

Freshman Timothy Renquist (63rd, 28:01) and sophomore Peter Fiorillo (68th, 28:22) also earned team points for the Keydets. Freshman Cameron Lambert raced well and finished the race in 70th place in 28:35.

VMI Men - 8th place - 231 points - 8K
23rd - Ben Hagerich - 25:59.40
44th - Nicholas Russo - 26:58.10
50th - Colin Crenshaw - 27:17.60
63rd - Timothy Renquist - 28:01.30
68th - Peter Fiorillo - 28:22.80
70th - Cameron Lambert - 28:35.10

ETSU's Jason Bowers won the individual title in 23:44, but the Furman Paladins won their 13^th consecutive team title with 20 points on the day. ETSU placed second with 85 points while UNCG finished third close behind with 104 points. The Keydets' 231 points defeated The Citadel (273) and Wofford (288) in the team standings.

VMI Head Cross Country Coach Tony Skiles
"Ben finished the highest in his VMI career and was only two seconds off his personal-best cross country 8K time. Nick Russo finished as the 11th best freshman in the conference. The men came in the preseason rankings as the eighth-best team. It was great to see the men to step up and run their best."

VMI Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Zack Scott
"Our men's team, featuring only one senior and one junior, fought hard representing the "I." Coach Skiles, who started just one week before our first meet, has our cross country program headed in the right direction for the future. While we didn't finish as high as we had hoped, both our men's and women's teams defeated The Citadel today."

MEN'S TEAM POINTS
1. Furman - 20
2. ETSU - 85
3. UNCG - 104
4. Chattanooga - 105
5. Samford - 115
6. Mercer - 129
7. Western Carolina -157
8. VMI - 231
9. The Citadel - 273
10. Wofford – 288

2025 Southern Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year
Jason Bowers, ETSU

2025 Southern Conference Men's Cross Country Freshman of the Year
Luke Hühn, UNCG

2025 Southern Conference Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman

All-Freshman Team
Rives Boltwood, Furman
Matteo Tonnos, Furman
Tripp Roemer, Furman
Luke Huhn, UNCG
Matthias Peterson, Western Carolina
Jaleb Saunders, Western Carolina
Eli Clonch, Western Carolina

First Team All-Conference
Jason Bowers, ETSU
Albert Velikonja, Furman
Christopher Knight, Furman
Bryn Woodall, Furman
Luke Taylor, Furman
Rives Boltwood, Furman
Matteo Tonnos, Furman

Second Team All-Conference
Jackson Martin, Chattanooga
Colton Kempney, Furman
Chance Underwood, ETSU
Tripp Roemer, Furman
Luke Hühn, UNCG
David Brown, Samford
William Jordan, Samford

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Players Mentioned

Colin Crenshaw: Sophomore

Ben Hagerich: 5' 9"; Junior

Peter Fiorillo: Freshman

Cameron Lambert: Freshman

Timothy Renquist: Freshman

Nicholas Russo: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Colin Crenshaw
: Sophomore

Ben Hagerich
: 5' 9"; Junior

Peter Fiorillo
: Freshman

Cameron Lambert
: Freshman

Timothy Renquist
: Freshman

Nicholas Russo
: Freshman

VMI Athletics

Scoreboard

VMI Men finish strong at SoCon Championship

Players Mentioned

Colin Crenshaw

Ben Hagerich

Peter Fiorillo

Cameron Lambert

Timothy Renquist

Nicholas Russo

Players Mentioned

Colin Crenshaw

Ben Hagerich

Peter Fiorillo

Cameron Lambert

Timothy Renquist

Nicholas Russo