HIGHLANDERS LED BY BURTON, POOLE IN FIRST MEET

Follow @RadfordTrackXC

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Senior Courtney Burton and junior transfer Frisco Poole led the way for the Radford women's and men's cross country teams, respectively, Friday night in the season-opening Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech's Buford Meredith Course.

Burton and fellow senior Courtney Rice both finished strong to lower their 4K times from the first race of last season and help the Highlanders place second as a team behind Virginia Tech. Burton clocked 15:05.00 to take 19th spot overall and was the second-best non-Hokie finisher. Rice crossed the line two spots behind her with a time of 15:30.40.

Sophomore Percie Lyons was the third RU finisher in 15:40.70, followed by junior transfer Mariah Quintero, who clocked 15:36.00 in her first race as a Highlander. Sophomore Allison Brennan cut nearly 20 seconds from her time in last year's meet and rounded out RU's top five in 16:14.80.

In his Radford debut, Poole turned in a 6K time of 19:39.10 to come in 20th. Poole was running with the front pack near the midway before losing a shoe, but recovered well enough to still finish second among non-Virginia Tech runners. Redshirt freshmen Cameron Mims and Ashenafi Kidanu followed him with times of 20:02.90 and 20:23.50, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Nathan Burgreen finished one spot behind Kidanu in 20:29.70, and freshman Logan Griffith was the Highlanders' fifth scoring runner in 21:01.90.

Running unattached junior transfer Haben Zemichael crossed the line in a time of 20:11.50. As a team, Radford placed third finishing well ahead of fourth-place Longwood.

"This first meet serves as a benchmark for us to track our improvement as we work toward the championship meets over the next 8-10 weeks," head coach Eric Thatcher said. "We have a long way to go, but have the talent to achieve our goals after we become more consistent with our training."

The teams will return to the Virginia Tech campus on September 16 for the VT Alumni Invite.

For the latest on Radford Athletics, please subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Highlander Happenings.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Allison Brennan: Dis.; 5' 5"; Sophomore

Courtney Burton: Dis.; 5' 10"; Senior

Percie Lyons: Dis.; 5' 2"; Sophomore

Courtney Rice: Dis.; 5' 6"; Senior

Mariah Quintero: Dis.; 5' 2"; Junior

Nathan Burgreen: Dis.; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore

Ashenafi Kidanu: Dis.; 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Cameron Mims: Dis.; 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

Logan Griffith: Dis.; 6' 5"; Freshman

Frisco Poole: Dis.; 5' 9"; Junior

Haben Zemichael: Dis.; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Allison Brennan
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: Dis.

Courtney Burton
: 5' 10"; Senior
: Dis.

Percie Lyons
: 5' 2"; Sophomore
: Dis.

Courtney Rice
: 5' 6"; Senior
: Dis.

Mariah Quintero
: 5' 2"; Junior
: Dis.

Nathan Burgreen
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore
: Dis.

Ashenafi Kidanu
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: Dis.

Cameron Mims
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: Dis.

Logan Griffith
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: Dis.

Frisco Poole
: 5' 9"; Junior
: Dis.

Haben Zemichael
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Dis.