Starting With a Bang: Cross Country Goes One and Two at UNO XC Opener

Friday, September 2

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Starting With a Bang: Cross Country Goes One and Two at UNO XC Opener

Sep 2, 2022 | Cross Country

By: Victoria Ahlbrecht

NEW ORLEANS – Aaron Gilliam's first place finish in the UNO XC Opener on Friday night helped propel the Tulane men's cross country team to its first, first place finish of the season. The women also got off to a hot start finishing second overall as a team, just behind LSU.

"The season opener is a great opportunity to learn some things about where we are," director of cross country/track and field Adrian Myers said. "Moreso mentally than even physically. I say that because we are training hard and have a mixed bag of upper-class newcomers as well as many freshmen.

Gilliam ran a 14:43.30 in his first 5000m of the season. Bradley Makuvire finished just under five seconds later at 14:49.23 to finish in second. Evans Kipchumba took home fourth at 14:59.36, followed by Kyle Johnson in sixth at 15:05.38. Arturs Lapins rounded out the team total finishing in 10^th at 15:15.24.

"The men are as good as advertised," Myers said. "We have a lot of veteran experience and leadership there. They packed up beautifully and pushed the final kilometer to pick up a victory. They couldn't have done things much more smoothly and I'm excited about how the fellas performed out there."

In her first race with the Green Wave, Danna Diaz finished in fifth place with a time of 13:37.85, marking the best time for Tulane in this event. Sophia McNerney wasn't far behind, coming in ninth place with a time of 13:56.59.

"Danna executed perfectly from the women's side and is still learning a lot as an athlete," Myers said. "She will really help our younger roster on the women's side develop into strong competitors. I look forward to seeing our women round into form late this fall."

Harper Shaw (14:07.45), Macy Turcotte (14:07.84) and Allie Nelson (14:15.35) occupied places 13-15 and rounded out the top five places to bring Tulane's team total to 56. They came second to LSU's 38 points as a team.

"We have the talent there, it's just putting it together over the coming months," Myers said. "They will be fun to watch.

The Green Wave returns to action next Friday at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas.

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