TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The 28th-ranked Haverford College men's cross country team competed in a rare night race on Friday at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, the site of the 2024 Division III National Championships. Haverford finished 10th overall in the prestigious 8k event.

Peter LaRochelle had another standout performance, finishing fifth overall with a time of 24:32.94. He was the top finisher from a school other than Pomona-Pitzer or Wisconsin-Whitewater. Reza Eshghi also delivered an extremely strong showing for the Fords, placing 19th with a time of 25:01.99. Seamus Fraser was the next Ford to finish, coming in 83rd at 25:57.46, followed by Owen Bluman, who narrowly missed the top 100, placing 107th in 26:11.09.

Micah Lachman (123rd, 26:17.39) rounded out the Haverford scorers, finishing in tandem with Luke de Valpine (124th, 26:18.35), just outside the Haverford top five. Jakob Maiwald (187th, 26:54.63) and Reed Solomon (228th, 27:16.82) were the next Haverford runners to cross the line, while Evan Daniels (259th, 27:31.84) completed the Fords' contingent on Friday night. 

The meet featured the Fords going toe-to-toe with a stacked field featuring several nationally ranked teams, including No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater, No. 5 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 10 George Fox and No. 12 MIT. Pomona-Pitzer took the title, edging out Wisconsin-Whitewater for the win.

Hosted by Rose-Hulman, the Division III Pre-Nationals event provides an early preview of the NCAA Championship course—a 250-acre complex dedicated to cross country running. The Lavern Gibson course has previously hosted 13 NCAA Division I National Championships and the 2012 Division III Championship.

With Pre-Nationals now in the rear view, a select group of Haverford runners will return to action tomorrow back in the Keystone State at the annual Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh. The Fords will compete in the Open Race, set to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.