College of DuPage men's cross country took their talents to the Aurora College Spartan Classic at Northwestern Medicine XC course in Geneva, IL on Saturday, Sept. 13. DuPage earned a third-place finish, placing as the top community college program in the 8K race. 

Freshman Adriano Quintero led the Chaps with an 11th-place finish in 27:46.6 seconds. Sophomore David Aviles followed in 30th at 29:20.6, while Jack Schultz took 37th at 29:52.6.

Rounding out the scoring pack were freshman Valentino Diaz (40th, 30:00.6) and Zach Bacci (41st, 30:07.3). Matthew Wick (42nd, 30:08.0) finished just steps behind, giving COD six runners inside the top 45. 

The Chaparrals scored ahead of four teams in the standings, finishing third out of seven overall. COD topped all community colleges in the race, with only four-year programs placing higher. 

Head Coach Mallory Dominguez had this to say regarding the men's performance, "It was the first 8K for the majority of our men being such a young team and I think we are still figuring out how to race it. They have a lot more in them and I'm excited to turn around this weekend and show that on a faster course." 

That opportunity will come quickly for the Chaps, as they have a week to regroup before heading to the Dodds Invite, at the St. James Farm Forest Preserve.