The Mississippi State cross country teams ended their seasons on a high note Saturday morning at the NCAA Cross Country South Regional in Gainesville, Fla.
The Bulldogs placed ninth, and the Lady Bulldogs came in 10th.
Junior transfer Wade Martin earned all-Region honors with a 31 minute, 20.44 second run on the 10K course, good for 24th overall and a strong end to an impressive season.
Junior Travis McKay finished on Martin’s heels in 31:37.71 to take 28th, just a breath away from an all-Region performance.
“Wade and Travis had a tremendous race,” men’s head coach Steve Dudley said. “Travis was just a few seconds from making all-Region. That’s a huge positive for our team. Our men’s program is getting better.”
Sophomore John Brigham (74th, 33:20.07) and juniors Brandon Smith (84th) and Phillip Moore (88th) rounded out Mississippi State’s top five scorers.
The Bulldogs tallied 269 points in their ninth-place finish. Conference rival Alabama (40) took home the regional title, while Florida State (47) of the Atlantic Coast Conference finished second. MSU finished ahead of other SEC foes Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
For the women, senior Zita Magloire finished with yet another award in a season filled with accomplishment, this time earning her first all-South Region honor after a 21:20.95 run on the 6K course. The time was good for 13th overall. Freshman Michelle Corrigan placed 30th in 22:05.27.
“Zita and Michelle ran well,” women’s head coach Al Schmidt said. We’re 10th in the region, and we were the fifth conference team to come across. Overall, we’ve had a good year. It was a great race by Zita.”
Two other freshmen, along with Corrigan, comprised State’s five scorers. Brittany Detzel finished in 22:57.61 (72nd), and Abbey O’Connell was 92nd in 23:24.71.
MSU’s other scorer was junior Joy Griffith who crossed the line just ahead of O’Connell in 90th with a time of 23:20.34.
The Lady Bulldogs accumulated 279 points en route to their 10th-place finish. Conference schools Tennessee (76) and Georgia (98) took the top two spots, while State bested SEC rivals Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi.