DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — Twin brothers Chris and Matt Lemon are setting records as University of Dayton cross country runners, but they train as if they're lucky just to have a spot on the team.

"They're extremely dedicated. ... The biggest penalty I could give them would be to take a day off," UD coach Rich Davis said.

The sophomores made that dedication pay off in a trip to the NCAA championship meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 24, becoming the first UD runners to make nationals.

Chris Lemon qualified with a third-place showing in the regionals at Purdue last Saturday, finishing with a UD-record time of 31 minutes, 31 seconds in the 10K event (6.2 miles). Matt found out after a suspenseful 24 hours that he barely slipped in with a 14th-place finish at 31:57.

He had to wait until at-large team bids were awarded Sunday to learn he had claimed the fourth and last spot among runners not part of a qualifying team.

"We've been running together since kindergarten, and I was really excited when he made it," Chris said.

Matt, who set the freshman 8K (five mile) school record last year, edged a runner from Marquette for the final spot by two-tenths of a second.

"It came down to the kick in that race. ... I passed about five or six guys over the last 200 meters," he said.

The duo — graduates of Toledo St. John's High School — allowed Davis, a retired high school teacher who is in his 12th year as coach at UD, to achieve a longtime objective.

"One of my ultimate goals was to get a kid either to the Olympic trials or the national championships," Davis said. "I didn't think it would come during their sophomore years, and now I'm looking forward to the next two years."

Soccer team united

The UD men's soccer team has seven international players on its roster. Alex Torda, a junior from Dallas who leads the Flyers with 10 goals, raved about how well the squad has meshed with so many overseas players.

"It's neat to experience and make friends from different cultures and different nations," Torda said. "Over there, they live and breathe soccer. ... They talk about it all the time.

"They could care less about our sports, as opposed to the way I am. I'm a big Cowboys fan. But I think soccer will continue to grow in America and continue to grow in Dayton as well."

The Flyers will play a first-round NCAA tourney game Friday at Illinois-Chicago, which won the Horizon League and is ranked 15th nationally in the NSCAA-adidas Top 25. The Flames, who have six international players on their roster, advanced to the Elite Eight last year.

Dayton is just outside the national rankings with the 26th-most votes. The winner will play Big Ten champ Michigan State, which has a first-round bye.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.