SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College freshman Christopher Boyd made his collegiate debut one to remember Saturday, capturing the individual championship and leading the Pomeroys to a seventh-place team finish at the Franklin Grizzly Invitational at Blue River Park.

Boyd won the men's 5,000-meter race in 15 minutes, 45.7 seconds, finishing first overall in his first collegiate competition.

Behind Boyd's individual victory, SMWC scored 209 points to finish seventh in the 12-team field. The Pomeroys finished ahead of Wabash (229), Wilmington (240), Hanover (241), Franklin (282) and FC Elite (298).

Rose-Hulman won the team championship with 34 points, followed by the Illinois Cross Country Club with 70 and DePauw with 82. Centre (136), Rhodes (158) and Oberlin (166) rounded out the six teams ahead of SMWC.

Sophomore Nathan Odle was the second Pomeroy across the finish line, placing 46th overall in 16:52.5, while sophomore Jayden Hickenbotham finished 53rd in 17:00.8.
Freshman Cooper Miles crossed in 83rd with a time of 17:29.7, and freshman Tyreese Brannon completed the scoring five in 121st at 18:05.0.

SMWC's scoring positions were first, 40th, 44th, 56th and 68th for its 209-point total. The Pomeroys' top five combined for a time of 1:25:14 and averaged 17:03 per runner.
Junior Ethan DeHamer finished in 19:14.1, freshman Corbin Ramirez-Jacquez crossed in 19:31.3, and senior James Frye completed the SMWC contingent in 19:36.4.

The performance was particularly encouraging for a young Pomeroy lineup. Four of SMWC's eight competitors were freshmen, including Boyd, Miles, Brannon and Ramirez-Jacquez.

Up Next
The Pomeroys return to competition Sept. 19 at the John McNichols Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.