Montevallo, AL. - The MMI men's cross country team took to the course bright and early on Friday morning on the campus of the University of Montevallo for the 2021 Falcon Classic. The men's field consisted of 11 schools including two Division I teams (Alabama A&M and Alabama State), seven Division II (Montevallo, Auburn-Montgomery, Clark-Atlanta, Delta State, Miles, Spring Hill and Tuskegee), two DIII (Birmingham Southern and Huntingdon) and two junior colleges (Marion Military Institute and Calhoun).

Marion finished 5^th out of 10 teams competing with freshman James Stover pacing the way.  Stover finished the 8k race with a time of 28:43.32.  Daniel Gaffney finished second for the Tigers with a 29:10.96 finish.  He was followed by Tyler Malone (30:10.76), Jackson Gary (32:06.08), Brennan Whalen (32:25.34), Logan Dunaway (33:12.21), and Nigel Bannister (34:14.44).  "I was really proud of the way our men ran today," said Head Coach Chad Balentine.  "We still have some work to do but I am looking forward to next week's meet at Blue Mountain and seeing the continued improvement."

Marion will travel to Blue Mountain College next Thursday for the Topper Trails Classic.  The first race is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.