Murray State University Athletics
Friday, September 10
Florence, Ala.
8:00 a.m.
Murray State
at
University of North Alabama
Wright Leads Racers to Second-Place Finish at UNA Invitational
9/10/2021 10:36:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Dani Wright finished second overall as Murray State tabbed a second place team finish at North Alabama
The Murray State women's cross country team tabbed seven personal best times and a second-place team finish at the North Alabama Invitational on Friday in Florence, Alabama.
The women scored 57 points as four of the Racers' top-five runners finished in a 54-second window and in the top-15 overall.
Senior Dani Wright led the Racers with her best career performance at the meet, placing second of 106 with a time of 18:12.7.
"Dani was in the lead pack from the gun. She started to break away from the pack after the second mile and finished only 2 seconds out of first place. Being in a position where you're right behind the lead cart and can feel the 105 other competitors behind you is an intimidating thing. Dani handled that spotlight very well and executed her racing strategy perfectly," said distance coach Jordan Johnston.
Junior Jess Stein was the second Racer across the line, with a 10th-place result Friday morning, clocking a time of 18:52.0.
Senior captain Emma Creviston notched her first scoring performance, placing 11th overall as the Racers' No. 3 runner in Florence. The senior turned in a time of 18:55.6.
"It was great to have Emma back in action. We planned to reintegrate Emma back into competitions slowly so today she was to treat the first half of the race like a workout and then see where her fitness is from there. In the end, Emma was still able to run a lifetime PR so I think that is a testament to how hard she worked these past few weeks cross training and staying engaged with the team," said Johnston.
Murray State's fourth and fifth runners, freshmen Hope Ware and Ainsley Smith clocked in at 19:06.9 with a 15th-place finish and 19:26.9 in 24th.
"Our average time for the top 5 was just under 19 minutes which is a big improvement for this group. In order for us to reach our team goals, we will need that average to come down quite a bit but I think we certainly have the talent and time to do that in the coming weeks," noted Johnston.
The largest PR was Breanna Day, taking 1 minute and 32 seconds off of her freshman year time, finishing 25th today and 6th for the team with a time of 19:27.1.
Murray State heads to Columbia, Missouri for the Mizzou's Gans Creek Classic on Oct. 1.
The women scored 57 points as four of the Racers' top-five runners finished in a 54-second window and in the top-15 overall.
Senior Dani Wright led the Racers with her best career performance at the meet, placing second of 106 with a time of 18:12.7.
"Dani was in the lead pack from the gun. She started to break away from the pack after the second mile and finished only 2 seconds out of first place. Being in a position where you're right behind the lead cart and can feel the 105 other competitors behind you is an intimidating thing. Dani handled that spotlight very well and executed her racing strategy perfectly," said distance coach Jordan Johnston.
Junior Jess Stein was the second Racer across the line, with a 10th-place result Friday morning, clocking a time of 18:52.0.
Senior captain Emma Creviston notched her first scoring performance, placing 11th overall as the Racers' No. 3 runner in Florence. The senior turned in a time of 18:55.6.
"It was great to have Emma back in action. We planned to reintegrate Emma back into competitions slowly so today she was to treat the first half of the race like a workout and then see where her fitness is from there. In the end, Emma was still able to run a lifetime PR so I think that is a testament to how hard she worked these past few weeks cross training and staying engaged with the team," said Johnston.
Murray State's fourth and fifth runners, freshmen Hope Ware and Ainsley Smith clocked in at 19:06.9 with a 15th-place finish and 19:26.9 in 24th.
"Our average time for the top 5 was just under 19 minutes which is a big improvement for this group. In order for us to reach our team goals, we will need that average to come down quite a bit but I think we certainly have the talent and time to do that in the coming weeks," noted Johnston.
The largest PR was Breanna Day, taking 1 minute and 32 seconds off of her freshman year time, finishing 25th today and 6th for the team with a time of 19:27.1.
Murray State heads to Columbia, Missouri for the Mizzou's Gans Creek Classic on Oct. 1.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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