Green Wave Men & Women Finish Top Six at Southern Showcase

Friday, September 15

Huntsville, AL

7:30 a.m.

Tulane University

Jacksonville State University

Green Wave Men & Women Finish Top Six at Southern Showcase

Sep 15, 2023 | Cross Country

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Tulane men's and women's cross country teams put together another strong performance early in the 2023 campaign as both team finished in the top six in fields of more than 30 at the Southern Showcase. The Green Wave women landed in third place overall in the 5k while the men posted a sixth-place finish in the 8k Friday.

"Couldn't be happier for our first full squad race of the fall," director of cross country/track and field Adrian Myers said. "They'll only get stronger and better over the weeks ahead. We're only getting better from here and beyond. We said we wanted to be 'that' team. We are closing the gap."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tulane XC and Track & Field (@greenwavexctf)

The women's team finished with a total team score of 94 just seven points behind second place Auburn. Tulane finished ahead of SEC competitors Kentucky, Mississippi State, and 13th-ranked Alabama.

"The women earned a lot of respect today," Myers stated. "I've been saying the women were flying under the radar a bit and we are young."

In her first meet of the season, freshman Lily Bell led the Green Wave women's team finishing eighth overall with a time of 16:56.10. Two other runners landed in the top 20 of the meet as Gemma Rebollo ran a 17:03.30 to finish 12th and Danna Diaz posted a time of 17:18.10 to finish 18th.

"Gemma, Lily, and Danna held us down up front from the gun," said Myers. "Paula had a breakout performance and will continue to trend up for the fall. Maddy showed up where we needed her to give us an excellent debut."

Completing the top five runners for the Wave were Paula Vaquera and Maddy Luscombe. Vaquera finished 22nd overall running a 17:27.00 and Luscombe landed 34th posting a time of 17:39.40. Sophia McNerney also recorded a top 50 finish at the meet running a 17.42.30 to finish 37th overall.

"Our men competed strong today against a very good field," Myers said. "We will run our full men's squad at Notre Dame in two weeks and connect some dots at 4-5 positions to be where we want to be. There is no doubt this group will be as good as advertised, but we just have to pull a couple things together including our full squad."

On the men's side Tulane finished sixth with a total team score of 144 to land only three points behind Middle Tennessee State for fifth overall. Bradley Makuvire and Jack Jennings shined for the Wave each recording top 10 finishes. Makuvire ran a 23:27.70 to finish second in the meet while Jennings landed ninth overall running a 23:49.60.

"I'm very happy with Bradley and Jack's racing up front with top level competition showing they are in a good place for early season," stated Myers. "Additionally, I have to shout out Ryan for a gritty performance. All three established great early race position and never looked back."

Ryan Adkins recorded the only other top 25 finish for Tulane as he ran a 24:28.30 to land 25th overall. Alan Deogracias III also landed in the top 50 for the Green Wave finishing 44th with a final time of 24:48.30.

Up next, the Green Wave will head to South Bend, Indiana, to race in the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Friday, September 29.

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL TULANE ATHLETICS APP
Download the official mobile app of Tulane Athletics. Now, you can stay in touch with the Green Wave anytime and anywhere on your Android or iOS mobile device.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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.