The fastest finish by a Hillsdale College men's cross country athlete in recent memory was the highlight of the Chargers' run at the prestigious Louisville Classic on Saturday morning.

Phillips finished 10th in a race full of Division I and top Division II teams in a blistering time of 23:54.2. He's the first Hillsdale men's cross country runner to go under 24 minutes in an 8K race in well over a decade, making history and stating his case as a contender for the G-MAC individual crown with the championship meet looming at the end of the month.

As a team, Hillsdale placed 13th overall in the loaded race, finishing third among Division II programs in the event and beating several Division I schools. Senior Nathaniel Osborne ran a new personal-best time of 25:04.0 to finish 75th for the Chargers, and Caleb Youngstedt also ran a new PR in 25:19.3 to place 97th. 

Freshman John Richardson was close behind Youngstedt in a personal best time of 25:20.1 to place 103rd, and fellow freshman Jefferson Regitz also ran a new personal best of 25:46.5 to place 169th and round out Hillsdale's scoring runners.

Zach Self cut nearly a minute off his previous personal best to finish 200th in 26:02.2, and Emil Schleuter also ran a massive PR for Hillsdale to place 207th in 26:08.6.

With all of its early-season meets now complete, the focus turns to the G-MAC Championship meet on Oct. 25, hosted by Northwood in Midland, Michigan. The Chargers are the defending champions and will have a tough task to hang on to the title, but Hillsdale should have a runner at or near the front of the lead group in Phillips and a strong pack to contend with the rest of the G-MAC title hopefuls.