LOUISVILLE (10/5/2024) – Junior Joshua Otten earned a top five finish to lead the University of Detroit Mercy men's cross country team on Saturday at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic from the EP Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Titans finished 12th out of 30 teams in the Blue division with 382 points.

Otten crossed the line in fifth place with an 8k time of 24:48.8, just missing out on his personal best by one second and tying for the 12th best 8k time in school history. He is the third Titan to post a top-five effort at Louisville joining Patrick Liederbach '11 (4th in 2010) and Ben Kendell '18 (4th in 2015 and 5th in 2018).

Freshman Ryan Belanger was the next finisher for Detroit Mercy, crossing the line in 63rd place with a time of 26:02. Sophomore Christopher Russelburg finished 91st with a time of 26:20, while senior Kenny Lashaway placed 121st in 26:40.

Senior Josiah Burr closed the scoring for the Titans in 133rd place, running 26:48 and finishing just ahead of freshman Caleb Wynn in 134th. Wynn also ran a time of 26:48 and set a new personal best.

UDM will have a week off before being back in action on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Falcon Invitational hosted by Bowling Green State University. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.