Mississippi State’s women’s cross country team makes it two in a row with their win in the Crimson Classic, while the men’s team finishes an impressive second.
“This is the first time in my 19 years that we have won at Alabama,” women’s head coach Al Schmidt said. “I challenged them this week, and we not only won the event-we destroyed the field.
“It was nice to win the Sewanee Invitational, but with the tougher competition at this meet, it speaks volumes about the rest of the season.”
The women’s cross country team finished their 5K race with 33 points and with five competitors finishing in the Top 10.
Senior Jennifer McPherson led the way by finishing third, with a time of 18:20.37.
Her fellow senior, Mina Thorstenson, placed sixth in the competition with a time of 18:38.36, while sophomore Michelle Corrigan finished eighth in the 5K race with a time of 18:39.42.
MSU’s men earned 56 points in their 8K race, finishing just behind the top-ranked Alabama.
They also placed seven competitors in the Top 20.
Senior Travis McKay led the MSU team finishing sixth with a time of 25:07.67.
His Top 10 finish is the sixth of his career, which sets a new record at MSU for career Top 10 finishes.
Ashenafi Arega followed McKay, finishing seventh with a time of 25:27.78.
Jonathan Rono placed 13th with a time of 25:48.15, while senior Wade Martin placed 14th in the event with a time of 25:55.32.
Seniors Phillip Moore and Pad Judd rounded out the field for MSU, finishing 16th and 17th, respectively, with times of 25:59.78 and 26:08.96.
“We are very pleased with how well we ran today,” men’s assistant head coach Houston Franks said. “This is a tremendous improvement from last year. We had some guys running in their first meet today, so hopefully this will give us more respect in the region. It also sets us up nice for the Notre Dame meet.”
Alabama, who is ranked 19th in the country, won the men’s side of the meet and also took home the individual titles in both races.
The MSU cross country teams will return to action on Sept. 29 to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational in