ABILENE -- Paced by senior runner Jeff Chandler, the UT Tyler men’s cross country team pulled off a season-best performance Saturday morning in Abilene to win the Texas Division III State Championship meet.

The Patriots’ 35 team points bested regionally-ranked Trinity by three to top the nine-team field.

Chandler was the top men’s individual, posting a winning time of 25:29. He edged out Trinity’s Sal Perdomo who finished second at 26:03.

Three other Patriots placed in the top 10 to help UT Tyler seal the win. Ross Renfroe came in fourth at 26:17, Nick Huff ran a 27:03 for sixth place and Will Krogman had a ninth-place time of 27:24. Jake Waddingham also finished in the top 15 with a 28:27 for UT Tyler.

The Patriots’ women came in sixth out of nine teams, led by a 19th place finish from Ginny Murphy who ran the 6,000-meter race in 24:57.

UT Tyler travels to Memphis, Tenn., for the Rhodes Invitational next weekend.