The Aurora University men's cross country team returned to the course as they competed in the 2021 NACC Cross Country Championships Preview hosted by Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois. The Spartan men had a strong showing winning the meet with 21 points. Finishing in second and third place was Wisconsin Lutheran and Rockford University.
 
Sophomore Cormac Dietz had a phenomenal day as he won the 8000-meter race running his lifetime best of 27:49.1. Also scoring for the Spartans were Nick Valle (third), Fernando Viveros (fourth), Miguel Gonzalez (sixth), and Jacob Bohnert (seventh). 
 
Head Coach Alex Lowe reflected on the men's performances stating, "Today was a great day for our guys to get back out there and race. They've been hungry for a chance to compete in cross country again and it definitely showed the way they attacked the race. Guys like Cormac and Fernando made big improvements over where they were a year ago, and that wouldn't have happened without the good consistent training they have been putting in during this gap without racing. It'll be exciting to see how we stack up in the conference championship especially once we have our full squad back in there." 
 
Next up for the Spartan men's cross country team is Saturday, March 27 when they travel to Kress Creek Farms in West Chicago, Illinois for the NACC Cross Country Championships hosted by Aurora University. Meet time is set for 12:00 p.m.