Mercer Men's Cross Country "Prosper-ous" at UGA Invitational to Finish 4th

BISHOP, Ga. – The Mercer men's cross country team turned in another of its trademark team efforts and came away with a fourth place finish at the Georgia Bulldog Invitational.

The veteran Bears' team had its top four finishers all cross the finish line within 39 seconds of each other. Only Georgia, Georgia Tech and Alabama placed ahead of MU's scoring quintet.

Sophomore Sony Prosper paced the team, running a time of 26:11.35 for the 8K race and a 19th place finish overall. Junior teammate Chris Svidesskis was close behind in 23rd place in a clocking of 26:16.09. Senior Marc Kushinka (26:37.18) and junior Jacob Law (26:40.54) finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively. Junior Andrew Weems was 56th overall (27:46.19) as the fifth Bears across the line.

"The men went to this meet wanting to make a statement and I think they did just that," s Bailey said. "They beat some good programs and held their own with some really big hitters today. I know they all worked hard over the summer and the result of their base-building efforts are showing through already.

"Sony Prosper came up big, leading the team from wire to wire and our top four men all finished within 39 seconds of each other. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think we are in a really good place as a team right now. They guys know we have a strong team and they are really focused and serious about performing at the top of their ability."