Cross Country coach Mark Elliot held most of his experienced runners out of the Tulane Invitational this weekend, yet the results did not seem to reflect the move.
Senior leader Jimmy Wiggins and juniors Jarrett Roche and Ben Shumaker sat out for the men’s team, while junior Katie Denton did not participate for the Lady Tigers.
Still, the men’s team finished in second place in the three-mile race with 57 points. Tulane won the meet with 26 points. In cross country, the team with the lowest number of points wins the race. Points are accrued by the place in which a team’s runners finish.
Freshmen Ryan Lenegham, Jace Gohres and James Presley paced the Tigers, finishing in 14th, 15th and 16th place respectively. The freshmen trio finished within two seconds of each other, led by Lenegham with a time of 16:14.76.
Matthew Bilich and Drew Haro finished in the top 20 also for the Tigers.
“Since I’ve been coaching, this is probably the best set of freshmen I’ve had,” Elliot said. “We’re still trying to work out all the kinks. I’ve only been coaching them for three weeks.”
The women’s team, which competed in the two-mile race, finished in third place with 100 points. Tulane also won that meet with 19 points and the University of Southern Mississippi placed second with 38 points.
Jennifer Radecker led the Lady Tigers with a 16th place finish of 12:46.89. Lone senior Katrina Flanders finished in 17th place with a time of 12:57.73 and Megan Kliebart placed 21st.
“I think realistically, both the men’s and women’s programs have the ability to finish among the top five or six in the conference,” Elliot said. “With the athletes we have returning and the incoming freshman, I believe we can have a successful season.”
Both teams travel to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete in the Lobo Invitational at the University of New Mexico next weekend.