Men's Cross Country Excel at Stormy Seas Opener

8/30/2025 7:11:00 PM | By: Bradynn Belcher

Georgetown, Texas - Opening their 2025 season with a 5K cross-division meet in Georgetown, Texas at the Stormy Seas Opener, the Berry Vikings faced off against new Southern Athletic Association conference foe Southwestern University. The team secured a fifth-place finish with 125 points, coming in behind the University of Texas and three other programs projected to lead their respective conferences.

The Vikings proved to be competitive, finishing behind Texas Lutheran University who accumulated a team score of 111. Prairie View A&M University, an NCAA Division I program, could not keep up with the fast footed Vikings, punched a team score of 130 for sixth place. Berry also placed in front of conference opponent Southwestern on their home course. Southwestern finished in seventh place with a team score of 223.

Head Coach Paul Deaton, entering his 33rd year as the patriarch of the program, was satisfied with the opening season performance from his team.
"[This was a] good conference championship course preview, [and a] good honest effort from the team," Deaton said.

Sophomore T Harris was the first runner in a Berry singlet to cross the finish line. Leading the pack, Harris secured 14th place with a time of 16:05.48 in a field of 124 finishers.

Battling the dry Texas heat, Troy Blackwood hit the course with a single goal: to finish. Blackwood has been a consistent contributing member for the squad for three years, but during the off season, Blackwood suffered health issues which made his return to running status apprehensible. With true Viking spirit, the senior never took no for an answer. During his first race back on the course, Blackwood contributed to the team score with an impressive 18th place finish with a time of 16:20.06.

Freshman Quincy Anderson proved that, at times, athleticism can be the ultimate equalizer in a field of upperclassman. In his first outing at the collegiate level, Anderson crossed the line as one of Berry's top five runners, establishing himself as a name to watch in the white singlet. The Alpharetta native secured 24th with a time of 16:34.29.

Rounding out the scoring for the Vikings were Owen Gagnon and Xavier Anderson. With merely two seconds between their chip times, the sophomores crossed the finish line in 37th and 42nd place, respectively. Gagnon earned a time of 17:03.14 with X. Anderson on Gagnon's heels with a chip time of 17:05.78.

The Vikings aim to build on their momentum as they host the second annual Equal Distance Meet on their home course in Mt. Berry, GA, on Sept. 6. The race is set to begin at 10:00 a.m.

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