Cross Country Charges into LSU Invitational
Sep 24, 2009 | Cross Country
Sept. 24, 2009
NEW ORLEANS - Coming off a second-place finish at the Mook 4 Invitational, the Tulane women's cross country team look to keep the momentum going as the team, along with the men's squad which placed fifth at the Mook 4, enters the LSU Invitational Saturday at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge. Junior Rebecca Coady is coming off a victory at the Mook 4, while sophomore Brian Lozes looks to pace the men's team for the third straight time.
The meet will be the first for newly appointed Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Eric Peterson.
"I'm beginning to get to know the team and work with them on a daily basis," Peterson said. "I'm very excited and eager to see how the team will perform in the first major competition of the 2009 season."
The Wave women are coming off a second-place finish at the Mook 4 Invitational, placing six runners in the top 25. Coady turned in a time of 11:52 on a two-mile to win the Mook 4 Invitational at Louisiana Tech, however, the junior enters the LSU Invitational battling a sore achillies.
"She's a strong front-runner for this team," Peterson said. "She's shown strong fitness and leadership for this young team."
Peterson's squad will feature Coady, fellow juniors Caitlin Hornbeck and Peggy Keplinger, sophomores Jessica Dallager, Johanna Gretschel and Marina Leith, as well as freshmen Emmi Aguillard, Katherine Crabtree and Maggie Gentry.
Crabtree turned in a time of 12:17 to finish seventh two weeks ago, while Gretschel finished 12th in 12:30. Gentry was right on her heels in 13th with a time of 12:45. Hornbeck placed 15th with a mark of 12:51. Aguillard rounded out the Green Wave's scorers in 18th, posting a time of 13:02.
Leith, a sophomore from Bethesda, Md, will be making her debut for the Green Wave. The Green Wave women placed second at the Mook 4 with a score of 48, behind McNeese, which totaled 20. On the men's side, Tulane placed fifth with a score of 114, two behind fourth place Grambling. McNeese finished first with a score of 21. For the second straight meet, Lozes led the Green Wave across the line, traversing the four-mile course in 21:25.
"Brian Lozes really has a lot of potential," Peterson commented, "and I know he's very eager and looking forward to this meet as well."
Sophomore Mike Mainguy posted a time of 23:08 to come in 23rd. Fellow sophomore Max Miller came in 27th in 23:27, while freshman Matt Morris debuted in 31st with a time of 23:52. Freshman Phillip Scruggs posted a time of 24:24, coming in at 34th in his first collegiate meet. Tulane's final runner was track athlete Kevin Mitchell, in 42nd of 48 athletes with a time of 26:47.
Lozes, Mainguy, Miller, Mitchell and Scruggs will be joined on the LSU entry list by freshmen Jordan Vance and Sam King, who will each make their Tulane debuts. Sophomore Jordon Holtzman, who led Tulane last season in the 8K Memphis Twilight and posted a season-best time of 28:17 at the Auburn Invitational, will make his season debut at LSU.
The women's race will begin at 8:35 a.m., followed by the men's race at 9:45 a.m. Joining Tulane in the field are Alcorn State, Dillard, Grambling, Houston, Jackson State, Lamar, Loyola, Mississippi College, Mississippi Valley State, Nicholls State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern, Southern-New Orleans, Xavier and host LSU.
Players Mentioned
