Staying Hot: Women's Cross Country Grabs Second Straight Second Place Finish

Friday, September 9

Houston, TX

Tulane University

Rice Invitational

Photo by: Parker Waters

Staying Hot: Women's Cross Country Grabs Second Straight Second Place Finish

Sep 9, 2022 | Cross Country

By: Victoria Ahlbrecht

HOUSTON, Texas - For the second straight week, Tulane women's cross country took second as a team, this time in the Rice Invitational.

Led by senior Mackenzie Callahan, the team finished with 62 points, just behind Rice at 30 points. The Rice team currently sits at second in its region and made it to NCAA Championships last season. The Green Wave also edged out fellow American Conference member Houston, who placed third as a team.

"I'm happy with how we performed today, especially considering we sat three of our top athletes to train through the week," Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Adrian Myers said. "It's nice to welcome Mackenzie back into the fold with a rust-buster today as she hasn't run a cross race since 2020, and that was the short season due to COVID."

Callahan ran a 14:12.2 in her first appearance of the season, taking fourth overall. She was followed by freshman Sophia McNerney, who placed fifth with a time of 14:16.6.

Other top 20 finishers on the women's side included Harper Shaw in 14th with a time of 15:07.8 and Lili Grant in 19th who ran a 15:25.8.

"Sophia ran very smart this weekend and will keep getting better each week," Myers said. "Harper is such a gamer and I have to shout out Lili, who keeps getting better. Overall, I couldn't be happier with how we hung in there with a program that ran at NCAAs last fall."

The men struggled a bit with most of their top runners sitting out. Tulane placed seventh overall in the field of 11. Adam Aldahir finished just outside of the top 20 with his time of 21:22.6 to take 25th.

"We sat a majority of our men this weekend to focus on Louisville," Myers said. "Our men are in a great spot and showed that last weekend, so we are happy with where we are. Adam ran fantastic and has really come to form with his hard work and determination to improve.

"Now we turn our attention to a solid three-week block of training before putting our best foot forward at the Louisville Classic," Myers said.

Tulane has a three-week break to train before it competes in Louisville on Saturday, October 1.

Follow Tulane cross country and track & field on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, all-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.