Running in his first elite national field in the United States Keith Gerrard produced a solid performance to finish in 73rd place.

Gerrard lined up for his university team, The New Mexico Lobos, at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals Invitational - a race that would help gain points for qualification to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Cross-country Championships.

The Lobos, who had competed in Indiana only two weeks ago, returned to the state but this time with the stakes much higher and to race on the Terre Haute course where the national championships will be held on November 23rd.

Out of 237 finishers the Peel athlete was fourth home for The Lobos, covering the 8k course in 24 minutes 48 seconds, and was happy to a point’s scorer for his university who finished in a strong seventh place in the team competition.

The University of New Mexico team’s next challenge will be the Mountain West Conference Championships in Utah on October 31st, followed two weeks later by the regional championships at home on the UNM Golf Course, Albuquerque.

Keith would like to thank the Manx Sports Ain Foundation for their continued support.