CLINTON, Miss. --- Mississippi College will send some of its top male distance runners to compete at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston, Massachusetts on Friday, January 30. Hosted by Boston University, the event will feature some of the nation's best distance runners, including top runners in NCAA Division I and Division II, as well as professional runners and Olympians.
Two-time NCAA Cross Country qualifiers Gabe Poulin and Christian Balcer will be competing in the Men's 5,000-meter run. Poulin holds the Mississippi College Men's Outdoor Track and Field record in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter run, while Balcer holds freshman records in the 1500-meter run, 1 mile run, 3,000-meter steeplechase, and 5,000-meter run.
Jan Lukas Becker and Cole Benoit will compete in the Men's 3,000-meter run, with Becker being the 2022 Gulf South Conference Cross Country Champion and Benoit holding the Mississippi College Men's Track and Field school record in the 1500-meter run and 3,000-meter run. Both Becker and Benoit both hold lifetime bests of 8:07 in the event.
Hunter Kurz and Brock Kelly will be in the Men's 1-mile run. Kurz holds the Mississippi College Men's Track and Field 1-mile record and is a national qualifier in the event, while Kelly is ranked among the top five performers of all-time in both the 1-mile and 3,000-meter run in Mississippi College Men's Track and Field history.
As one can see, the Choctaws are sending Mississippi College's historically best runners to this elite competition. The overall goal is to chase national qualifying marks and gain experience racing competitive fields.
