SALISBURY, Md.--Senior William Andrews of the Hood College men's cross country team placed 42nd of 107 runners at the Don Cathcart Invitational hosted by Salisbury University at Winter Place Park Saturday.

Andrews set a senior class 8K record with a clocking of 27:36 to pace the Blazers. His time was a scant five seconds off his own overall school record set at this course during his freshman campaign. Freshman Brett Shelley crossed the tape four seconds after Andrews and took 44th. Andrews and Shelley turned in the second and third-fastest times, respectively, in program history.

"They ran very intelligently," observed head coach Brent Ayer. "The first mile was 5:31; they worked together and continued to hammer 5:30 miles throughout. There was no lack of focus today and plenty of fast runners to chase."

Senior Blair Ames was the third Hood finisher in 28:47 while classmate Brendan Greenlees put up a time of 29:17, his personal best. Sophomore Dave Gudeman and freshman Jordan McNeill registered times of 29:59 and 35:01, respectively, to round out the Blazer contingent.

"There was no shortage of effort today. We were nine points adrift of St. Mary’s and Frostburg State. If we put it all together, there are some programs we can catch.

"The next three meets are the ones I care about and we are hosting them all, including the CAC championship," Ayer continued. "If we can keep everyone healthy and on the same page, we can move up some slots."

Hood finished in ninth place out of 11 complete teams (14 total). East Stroudsburg University won the meet and claimed six of the top nine finishers, including individual champion Frank Fezza, who clocked a time of 25:34 to edge out teammate Gregory Laraia by six seconds.

Hood has three weeks off to prepare for its own Open Meet at Heritage Farm Park in Walkersville, Md., at 11 a.m.