NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Afewerki Zeru and Mark Simmons finished in the top 10 at the Trevecca Nazarene University Division II Showcase Saturday morning, leading the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's cross country team to a fourth place finish.  Only eight points separated the first-place team – No. 8 Southern Indiana (60 points) and No. 10 UCCS (68 points).
 
No. 20 University of Charleston came in second place with 61 points and No. 16 Lee University placed third with 64 points.
 
Zeru crossed the finish line fifth overall in 25:10.8.  Mark Simmons was three runners behind Zeru to finish eighth overall with a career best time of 25:35.5. 
 
Matthew Schramm recorded a top-15 finish with his time of 25:39.5, the 12^th fastest time in the race.  Evan Graff (21^st place, 25:58.1) and Charlie Kieffer (26^th place, 26:16.7) rounded out the Mountain Lions top five scorers. 
 
Joshua Chepkesir from UNC-Pembroke bested all 110 runners with a time of 24:17.2
 
The Mountain Lions will take two weeks off from competition before returning to the course for the 2019 UCCS Cross Country Open on Oct. 12.