WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY TAKES VICTORY LAP AT XC ONLY NATIONAL INVITE

Follow @RadfordTrack

MEN'S RESULTS | WOMEN'S RESULTS

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. – Led by four of its runners finishing in the top six, the Radford women's cross country team captured the team 5k title at the Cross Country Only National Invitational hosted by the University of Richmond Friday at Pole Green Park. The Highlanders took fourth in the men's 8k race on the strength of six PR's.

"I am so pumped for this group," an ecstatic cross country coach Mackenzie Wartenberger said. "The women ran a fantastic race with all seven of them smashing PR's. To beat teams from the A-10 and Conference USA is huge for us, given how strong those two conferences are in cross country. We had a great week of training leading up to this race, so if we can continue that effort over the next couple weeks, I believe there are big things in store for this team at conference."

Leading the Highlanders in the women's race was senior Katie Hickey. She completed the 5k course in 18:09 to claim first place. Fellow classmate Madeline Thomas was right behind Hickey, earning a runner-up finish with her 18:18.

Sophomore Malina Richardson rounded out the top-five finishers for Radford with an 18:36, which was fourth in the standings. Narrowly missing a top-five showing was Courtney Rice, who rounded the course in 18:59 to take sixth.

Also scoring for the Highlanders was freshman Cailyn Lavigne (19:52) in 16^th. Classmates Denaya Wolterding (20:29) and Ckareekeea Branch (21:51) placed 19^th and 26^th, respectively.

For the men, freshman Brady Guertin guided the Highlanders with his season-best time of 25:56, which placed him ninth in the final standings. Junior runner Chaz Porter followed Guertin with a 13^th-place finish in a PR time of 26:10.

Rounding out the scoring for Radford was freshman Jacob Black (26:18) in 19^th, senior Joey Hannah (26:42) in 21^st and junior Harrison Murn (26:43) in 22^nd. Also racing for RU was freshman Nathan Burgreen (28:18), who took 31^st, and fellow classmate Jonah Clark (28:53), who was the 32^nd runner to cross the line.

"Overall, the men ran a nice race," Wartenberger believed. "Our young group is still learning, but we continue to improve from week to week. Six of our seven runners established PR's today on the men's side, which I am pleased with."

The Highlanders will take the next couple weeks to train for the Big South championships, which are scheduled for Nov. 1 in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Print Friendly Version