The Mississippi State University men’s and women’s cross country team continued their seasons Monday at the Auburn Invitational at the Indian Pines Golf Course. The Lady Bulldogs finished third and the men’s team captured sixth place.
The women’s team had a strong showing with three runners finishing in the top 10. Jennifer McPherson, a junior from Nampa, Idaho, led the Bulldogs with a time of 18:29.44 on the 5K course. Her time garnered fifth place honors. Junior Zita Magliore and Senior Meggan Hodge rounded out the top 10 finishers for MSU. Magliore placed seventh with a time of 18:39.00 and Hodge finished the race in 18:45.00 giving her a ninth place finish.
The Lady Bulldogs totaled 81 points, just three points behind SEC rival Auburn. Samford won the meet with 50 points. MSU finished ahead of SEC foes Alabama (fourth), South Carolina (sixth) and Louisiana State University (seventh).
“It was a good race,” said women’s head coach Al Schmidt in a press release. “I was real pleased that we finished ahead of three SEC teams.”
On the men’s side, MSU captured sixth place with 189 points. SEC foes Auburn, LSU and Alabama finished second, third and fourth, respectively. Travis McKay, a sophomore from Edmonton, Alberta, paced the Bullies with a 30th place finish in a time of 26:19.16 on the 8K course. Following McKay was freshman Robert Scribner with a 37th place finish in a time of 26:26.00.
Sophomore Phillip Moore finished 41st with a time of 26:31.12, while lone senior Gedamu Ege finished 49th (26:55.25). John Brigham rounded out the Bulldog top five with a 52nd place finish.
The MSU men run a very young team. In Monday’s meet four of the top five Bulldogs were either sophomores or freshmen.
“We’re still really young,” men’s head coach Steve Dudley said in a press release. “We haven’t developed into collegiate runners yet. When they do come full circle, they’ll be good.”
The Bulldog’s next meet will be the MSU Short Course Invite Oct. 22.