Tulane Sweeps UNO XC Opener

Friday, September 1

New Orleans, LA

6:10 p.m.

Tulane University

New Orleans

Sep 1, 2023 | Cross Country

NEW ORLEANS – First place finishes by Bradley Makuvire and Gemma Rebollo helped the Tulane men's and women's cross country team claim first place at the UNO XC Opener on Friday. The Green Wave posted top three finishes in both the men's and women's races to open the season with a pair of meet victories.

"We are very happy with the men and women's performances tonight," director of cross country/track and field Adrian Myers said. "As a group we saw some great things and still have some folks we look to bring into the lineup down the road that'll help us move the needle more."

Double the victory fun on a Friday night season opener❕

Bradley Makuvire & Gemma Rebollo both finish first as the Wave wins the men's and women's UNO XC Opener!#RollWave🌊 | #SetTheStandard📈 | #RunWave👟 pic.twitter.com/6oltrTlroL
— Tulane XC & TF (@GreenWaveXCTF) September 2, 2023

The women's team held off LSU for the top spot finishes with a total team score of 31 to the Tigers' 35.

Rebollo ran a 13:42.97 to record her first meet win of the year. In third place in the women's race was Danna Diaz for the Green Wave with a time of 13:50.31. Moments later Sophia McNerney crossed the finish line at 13:57.81 to land fourth. Reese Ragland also finished in the top ten posting a final time of 14:11.99 when she crossed the finish line.

"Gemma has a big engine and will only get stronger at the longer championship season," Myers said. "Danna was right there with her which says a lot about the work put in over the summer. Our women are in a great place right now. We look forward to waking up tomorrow and stacking another days work towards our bright future."

Macy Turcotte landed in the top 20 finishing in 16th with a time of 14:37.44. Rounding out the top performers for Tulane were Paula Vaquera in 21st at 14:55.44 and Amanda Soldan in 23rd at 14:55.70.

On the men's side the Green Wave ran away with the top spot posting a total team score of 20 which was 27 points better than UNO in second place.

Makuvire and Jack Jennings finished first and second to set the tone for Tulane. Makuvire ran a 14:39.78 to cruise into the top spot followed by a 15:02.27 pace for Jennings in second.

"Bradley is in top form out of the summer and in a great place to close the championship season as one of the top athletes in the country," Myers said. "Jack is a competitor and will blossom into a special talent over the fall. Our men just really looked good top to bottom. Couldn't be happier with their performance tonight."

Four more runners landed inside the top ten for Tulane as Ryan Adkins finished fourth at 15:09.88, Alan Deogracias finished sixth at 15:14.24, Arturs Lapins finished seventh at 15:14.43, and Alber Tawil-Brown finished eighth at 15:16.35. Juan Giron rounded out the top runners for Tulane running a 15:43.97 to land 17th overall.

"New Orleans puts on a great opener meet here in the city," Myers stated. "The crowd from Tulane athletics really charged our squads up and pushed us to a great performance."

Up next, the Green Wave returns to action Friday, September 15, for the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama.

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