On Saturday morning in Tuscaloosa, the boys cross-country team secured a 1st place finish at the ACA Invitational. The team pulled off the upset of higher ranked Providence High School and American Christian Academy to win the championship for the third year in a row. Only two athletes returned from last year’s championship squad, and none competed on Saturday from the team that won it in 2019.

The boys won the team race behind a 6th place performance up front from junior Ben Linder and a 10th place finish from senior Eric Vande Linde. The strength of the pack of Nathan Hunter, Grant Gates, and Cameron Blankenship were able to hold off stellar individual performances from PHS and ACA. Rocco Marchionda and Clayton Maxwell played defense as the last two finishers for the varsity squad, both breaking 19 in the process.

The Collierville boys are now 10-0 to start the season. They will compete this weekend at Arlington High School.