Over the past few years, the University of North Carolina men's cross country team has steadily improved and become among the best in the nation.
The Tar Heels finished sixth at the NCAA meet in November, its highest placement since 1985. The future seems bright, too, thanks to the impressive, relentless recruiting of head coach Chris Miltenberg and his staff.
This month, UNC received commitments from two of the top boys distance recruits in the Class of 2025: Joe Barrett of Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) and Robert Mechura of Roseville Area (MN) High School.
Barrett and Mechura are each having sensational junior years.
Mechura won the Minnesota state Class AAA cross country title and the NXR Heartland Regional in a meet-record 14:32 over the 5K course. At NXN, he finished 20th overall and sixth among juniors.
Mechura has only co...
