KAMNIK, Slovenia — Bend’s Max King finished in 16th place to help lead the U.S. men to a second-place team finish at the 26th World Mountain Running Championships on Sunday.

The race was staged on an uphill-only, 12-kilometer course that featured 4,300 feet of elevation gain along gravel roads and singletrack trails.

The second-place finish was the best ever for the U.S. men, who have sent a team to the World Mountain Running Championships since 1990.

Eritrea placed first in the team competition, and Italy was third. Samson Gashazghi, of Eritrea, won the race in 56 minutes, 25 seconds.

Joe Gray, of Lakewood, Wash., was the top U.S. runner, placing 10th with a time of 59:27. King finished in 1:00:50.

The U.S. women finished fourth on an 8.5K course, behind the 12th-place finish of Kristin Price (53:19), of Raleigh, N.C. Italy claimed the women’s team competition, and Andrea Mayr of Austria won the race in 49:30.

— Bulletin staff report