Tulane University
South Alabama Cross Country Opener
Cross Country Sweeps Field At Jaguar Opener
Sep 4, 2015 | Cross Country
Video Review Of The Jaguar Opener
MOBILE, Alabama - Sophomore Moses Aloiloi posted an individual victory and fellow second-year standout Emma Newton tallied runner-up finish as the Tulane University cross country teams opened the 2015 season by sweeping the field on Friday evening at the Jaguar Opener.
The reigning Louisiana Runner and Freshman of the Year, Aloiloi posted a time of 18:39.8 in the 6K race to finish ahead of South Alabama's Nathan Riech (18:41.5). Newton, meanwhile, clocked a 14:37.7 showing in the 4K run behind only USA's Joanna McCoy's 14:21.9. The men's team finished with 24 points to come in 14 points better than South Alabama and 49 better than Florida A&M. On the women's side, the Green Wave had 26 points to edge South Alabama by five. The University of Mobile also participated in both races, but its times were not factored in the team scoring.
"It's always nice to start your season off with two team victories like we got today," Tulane head coach Eric Peterson said. "I thought our lead runners performed very well with Moses winning the race overall and Emma -- running her first race in almost an entire year -- finishing second and competing very well. Overall, I'm very pleased."
Senior Jack White was second to Aloiloi for the Green Wave with a 19:08.4 to finish fourth overall, while redshirt-senior Mark Manion was fifth and senior Nicholas Meloro was sixth with respective times of 19:26.6 and 19:33.1. Freshman Pierce Hill (19:44.2) and junior Chris Lowery (19:49.5) rounded out Tulane's Top 10 performers.
Aloiloi held a commanding advantage for most of the second half of the race, but South Alabama's Riech refused to give in without a fight. Riech closed the gap with a hard spring over the final turn only to see Aloiloi cruise to a relatively easy win.
"I wanted them to run as a pack through the first 2K of this race and they did a great job of that," Peterson said. "Moses was up there, along with Mark Manion, Chris Lowery, Nick, a newcomer Pierce Hill from Baton Rouge. Even Charlie Frishberg, who probably had the best race of his life, was in there as well. Moses broke away from the field at about the midway point and put the race away, which then put a lot of pressure on the rest of the team, but they responded well and came away with the win."
Newton led a 2-3 finish for the women's team as senior Mikayla Sonneborn was next with a 14:58.4 Freshman Sarah Marvin finished sixth overall with a 15:20.6, followed by redshirt-freshman Becca Blitt (seventh at 15:43.8), sophomore Emily Bedell (eighth at 15:53.8) and junior Katharine Smiley (10th at 16:23.0) round out the Green Wave's Top 10 individuals.
"The women, in particular, ran very well today," Peterson added. "We saw some very good things at the front of the team. Mikayla Sonneborn, our most experienced athlete, was our No. 2 runner today. She had a great finishing run in the home stretch and beat a couple of women from South Alabama, and that ended up being very key for us in the team race."
The Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Sept. 19, when Tulane travels to Seattle, Washington, to participate in the Sundodger Cross Country Invitational. From there, the Wave will take part in the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 2 and the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, on Oct. 17 before competing in The American Championship on Oct. 31 in Grimesland, North Carolina.
Players Mentioned
