BOONE, N.C.—University of Southern Indiana senior Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) raced to a third-place finish out of 146 competitors at the Appalachian State Covered Bridge Open Friday evening.
 
Hufnagel, an NCAA Division II All-American in 2021, finished the eight-kilometer race in 25 minutes, 12.61 seconds, a little more than 20 seconds off the winning pace set by Florida State University's Ferghal Curtin.
 
The Screaming Eagles opened the 2022 season, their first competing at the NCAA Division I level, by placing two runners inside the top 15 and four inside the top 55 of a meet that also featured several Division I opponents, including the University of Louisville and host Appalachian State University.
 
Junior Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) finished 14th with a time of 25:52.75, while sophomore Dylan Bland (Holland, Indiana) was 40th with a time of 26:36.26.
 
Sophomore Brady Terry (Philpot, Kentucky) finished 55th, while junior Ethan Goddard (Avon, Indiana) rounded out the Eagles' top five with a 72nd-place showing.
 
As a team, the Eagles finished sixth out of 13 teams with a score of 156 points. Juniors Garrett Ardis (Lawrenceburg, Indiana) and Taylor Mills (Warsaw, Indiana) were 86th and 87th, respectively, to round out USI's scoring.
 
On the women's side, due to a glitch in the scoring, results will not be available until Saturday night. A full release will be sent out when results become available.
 
The Eagles return to action September 16 when they travel to Huntsville, Alabama, to compete in the North Alabama Showcase.