Racers Look Strong in First Meet of Season

Saturday, September 5

Memphis, Tenn.

10 p.m.

Murray State

Christian Brothers

Photo by: Murray State Sports Information

9/5/2015 11:13:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Men's Results I Women's results

The Murray State Cross Country teams started the season in Memphis, Tennessee when they competed in the 13th annual Brooks Memphis Twilight Cross Country Classic.

The event was contested at Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis Saturday night.

The MSU women's team finished eighth out of 26 teams, while the men's team posted a solid 12th place finish.

Murray State Head Coach Jenny Swieton was pleased with her Racers out of the gate in the season opener.

"I am really excited to see what the season holds for this group," she said. "We definitely still have work to do, but this was a solid start."

Coming off a redshirt year in 2014-15, Murray State's Brittany Bohn was the Racers' top finisher with a spot in 27th place with a time of 18:36 on the 5K course. Meagan Smith had a good showing of 59th place with a time of 19:24. Other MSU finishes included: Caroline Grogan (19:41), Emma Gilmore (19:59), Rebekah Priddy (20:03), Emani Griffin (20:23), Ida Mutai (21:16), and Rebecca Morris (23:26).

"Brittany's time was nearly a PR for her, even in hot and muggy conditions," Swieton added. "Bekah and Emani also had solid performances. This team is into their sophomore year now and things are starting to click for them."

The men's race at Memphis was contested on a four mile course.

Mark Ventura led the MSU men's team with a 33rd place showing with a time of 20:56. Freshman Vince Turner was the next top Racer as he placed 58th with a time of 21:21. Gavin Galanes was not far behind Turner, finishing 62nd with a time of 21:23. Rounding out the Racers' were Lucas Prather (21:38), Cole Cisneros (22:15), Neil Yockey (22:48), Gavin Davis (23:33), and Jared Koerner (24:02).

"Our men's team had a good showing," Swieton said. "We had five of our runners post faster times tonight than our best time when we raced at here a year ago. Mark and Vince had standout performances."

The Racers' next meet will be at Vanderbilt's Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn. (Sept. 19) at 10 a.m.