The Waynesburg University men’s cross country team concluded the 2018 season this past weekend at Center Valley, running in the Division III Mideast Regional meet. The Yellow Jackets placed around the middle of the pack, finishing 32nd of 52 teams.

The team’s finish was almost identical to last season’s, where the Jackets placed 32nd of 51 teams in Newville.

Sophomores Mac Colomb, Nate Jacelin and Matt Durgin, along with junior Jared Scott, led the way through less than ideal courses conditions that featured 35 mph winds. Head coach Chris Hardie said the weather affected the team’s final time.

“The course was very muddy and slick,” Hardie said. “The conditions weren’t perfect for racing, and the times were off a minute or so.”

Hardie said that although the Jackets’ goal for the competition was to place a little higher than 32nd in the region, there were still positives to take from Saturday’s performance.

“Our expectations were to put forth a really good effort, and we thought we could run to a top-20 finish in our region,” Hardie said. “Although the results didn’t pan out the way we anticipated, we did feel like the men worked hard and did their best.”

Colomb was the top runner for the Jackets, after placing third in the top seven as a freshman. Colomb beat his previous time on the course placing 142 out of 357 runners with a mark of 28:49. Fellow sophomores Durgin and Jecelin finished second and third for the Jackets with times of 29:16 and 29:44.

Scott was the only non-sophomore to place in Waynesburg’s top seven, as he finished fourth on the team with a time of just under 30 minutes. Jecelin was impressed with his Scott’s performance, as the junior bumped up his average place in the top seven.

“Jared Scott performed really well because he usually is our sixth or seventh [best] runner and he was our fourth runner at DeSales,” Jecelin said. “He really stepped up in the colder [weather], and he has been training a lot. It’s really starting to pay off for him at the end of the season.”

Although the season is over, Jacelin said that the Yellow Jackets, led by a talented sophomore class, have a bright future ahead of them.

“I think this season was a good build-up for what we have in store for next season because we have a young team,” Jecelin said. “Six of our top seven [runners] are sophomores, and one is a junior, so we are all returning next year and with some good recruiting for next season the effort that was put in this season is building up towards hopefully a championship team next season.”