LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Clay Peets continued his dominating redshirt senior season Saturday by taking control and never looking back on the way to a convincing victory in the Blue Race at this year's Louisville Cross Country Classic.

Peets turned heads in the cross country world by trouncing the field at one of the top events in the nation each season. He pulled away from the rest of the field of over 425 competitors, setting yet another school record in the process.

He ran the 8K course at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in a time of 24:12.2, beating the competition by over 36 seconds. Only four other runners broke the 25-minute barrier on a summer-like day in the Bluegrass State.

The site of the 2012, 2015 and 2017 Division I national championships, the course now is also the venue for St. Bonaventure's top-ever 8K time as Peets surpassed his mark of just a week ago by nearly three seconds. The reigning Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week has now set the school record in a cross country race 10 times during his Bonaventure career. He has finished first, second and first in the team's three meets this fall.

As a team, the Bonnies placed third out of 41 teams taking scores in the race. Bona's 209 team points were behind only Otterbein (153) and Mount Union (155).

The rest of Bona's scoring runners were packed close together.

Junior William McCarthy finished 48th overall with a run of 25:58.9 while graduate Drew Carlson (26:02.9) and senior Casey Malloy (26:03.3) were next to each other at the finish line, taking 55th and 56th respectively. Carlson was less than a second off his PR while Malloy established a new personal best, moving to ninth individually in the program record book.

Junior Joshua Lopez also recorded a personal record of 26:08.9, five seconds better than his previous top collegiate effort.

Nathan Sikorski (26:13.1) and Aiden Konetsky (26:51.3) were also in the team's top-seven. Freshman Alexander Rennick (26:56.1) and sophomore Kevin Renner (27:18.8) also set new Bonnies PRs.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BOB MACFARLANE
"It was an unseasonably hot day and the team rose to the challenge. Clay dominated the race from start to finish. His effort really puts Bona's on the running map. Our second through sixth runners packed tightly, finishing within just 15 seconds of one another. That remarkable depth and cohesion proved crucial in pushing the Bonnies to the podium in one of the most competitive meets of the season. Just a gritty performance in tough conditions. This race marked a statement for the team heading into the championship portion of the season."

UP NEXT
Members of the team will compete next weekend at the Highlander Invitational in Houghton, N.Y.

Blue Race

BONNIES RESULTS
1. Clay Peets – 24:12.2 ** - SCHOOL RECORD
48. William McCarthy – 25:58.9
55. Drew Carlson – 26:02.9
56. Casey Malloy – 26:03.3 (PR)
64. Joshua Lopez – 26:08.9 (PR)
75. Nathan Sikorski – 26:13.1
152. Aiden Konetsky – 26:51.3
165. Alexander Rennick – 26:56.1 (PR)
212. Kevin Renner – 27:18.8 (PR)
225. Layne Haught – 27:26.3
228. Ethan Luce – 27:29.3
232. Nate Viele – 27:33.5
271. Jack Handman – 27:58.4
289. Matthew Ryan –28:13.4
355. Declan McGrath – 29:32.6

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