NASHVILLE – The Trevecca Nazarene University cross country teams hosted the second Michael Pretorius Invitational at the Vaughn's Gap Course at Percy Warner Park.
 
For the Trojan men, Hamzah Abo-Hashema finished tenth in a field of 87 that was littered with mostly NCAA Division 1 runners.
 
Hope Ilias finished in the top 20 for the women.
 
Trevecca coach Austin Selby said, "It is incredibly special when the family of Michael Pretorius shows up. Having his mom, Amanda, and sister there make it special. His legacy lives on, and that is what is most important about today. They do more than just show up, they love on the team and our staff and not just on meet day."
 
Today was a chance to honor former Trojan Michael Pretorius again and for Samantha Rosencrants to compete almost one year following an auto accident that took her 2022 season away. Rosencrants was injured, along with Abigail Baggott, in an auto accident on the way to practice leading up to the first Pretorius Invitational.
 
Amanda Pretorius and other family members were there today. Proceeds from the 2023 meet go to Under the Willow, a new organization founded by Amanda Pretorius to honor her late husband, Michael Pretorius. Under the Willow will offer community, resources, and in-person retreats specifically for companions and caregivers of someone facing a diagnosis, so their stories can continue to bring hope, support, and life. 
 
Michael Pretorius competed for Trevecca beginning in 2012 and was diagnosed with cancer during his senior season (2014-2015) following the fall cross country season. Michael got to work fighting cancer immediately and stayed enrolled in classes. He completed his initial treatment near the end of the outdoor track and field season and made an emotional and courageous return to the team. Michael ran and completed the 800m event at Rhodes. He eventually was cancer-free, but his cancer returned in 2019.  

Trevecca has hosted a home meet at Vaughn's Gap numerous times and hosted the Great Midwest Athletic Conference meet at the course. 
 
The men competed on the 8000m course while the women were tested over the 5000m course.
 
ESSENTIALS (details)
Women: 5K | 8 teams | 112 individuals
Men: 8K | 8 teams | 87 individuals
 
TROJAN WOMEN / 5K

		Points
1	Central Arkansas	31
2	Lipscomb	38
3	Ouachita Baptist	67
4	Trevecca	127
5	Jacksonville	155
6	Austin Peay	157
7	Univ. of the South	208
8	Tennessee State	228

 

Points		Time
19	Hope Ilias	19:26.8
24	Samantha Roberts	19:41.8
25	Madelyn Ferrel	19:48.5
26	Ruth Penney	19:59.9
33	Emmy Mattingly	20:41.6
35	Ashley Alsvig	20:46.2
38	Madeline Patton	21:02.2
	Raegan Heldt	21:04.7
	Chane de Beer	22:03.7
	Samantha Rosencrants	22:26.9
	Hailey Carmichael	23:21.7
	Kathryn Williams	23:59.0
	Kendall Chapman	25:41.0

 
Recording personal best times, at the 5K distance for cross country, were Ashley Alsvig, Hailey Carmichael, Chane de Beer, Madelyn Ferrel, Hope Ilias, and Emmy Mattingly.
 
Turning in season best times were Kendall Chapman, Raegan Heldt, Madeline Patton, Samantha Roberts, Samantha Rosencrants, and Kathryn Williams.
 
The women, running the same course as two weeks ago, at the Belmont Open, the team average improved 20 seconds for the top five scorers (20:16 to 19:56). In addition, the entire team combined to improve 4:48 from Belmont opener to today.
 
Brooke Koblitz, assistant coach, said, "Overall we are thrilled for this women's team and their improvement. They are continuing to show progress and roster depth. This is the strongest and deepest women's team at Trevecca in a while."
 
TROJAN MEN / 8K

		Points
1	Central Arkansas	38
2	Ouachita Baptist	51
3	Lipscomb	62
4	Jacksonville	109
5	Trevecca	128
6	Austin Peay	163
7	Tennessee State	208
8	Univ. of the South	222

 

Points		Time
10	Hamzah Abo-Hashema	25:48.4
23	Shane West	27:17.2
26	Joseph Garcia	27:41.6
29	Caden Meeks	28:09.2
40	Jon Alsup	29:20.9
42	Dayton Wright	29:27.5
45	Joel White	31:33.0
	John Dalton	DNF
	Ben Carr	DNS

 
Hamzah Abo-Hashema produced the second best 8K time for Trojan at the Vaughn's Gap course. It isn't his personal best time at the 8K distance.
 
Two other Trojans did record a PR on Saturday, Shane West and Jon Alsup.
 
Austin Selby said, "We are pretty happy with the result for the men, especially when you consider missing Ben Carr today and John Dalton having to drop out of the race. Today is a good springboard for Louisville and the Live at the Lou Classic in two weeks."
 
UP NEXT
Trevecca heads to the Live in the Lou Classic at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. on September 30.

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