The Mississippi State University Cross Country team closed out their regular season Friday morning at the Harry Pritchett Running Course in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, by finishing seventh out of 24 overall in the Crimson Classic hosted by the University of Alabama.
Coming off consecutive seventh place finishes at the Southern Showcase and the Gans Creek Classic, the Bulldogs were up for a challenge as they looked to continue their recent success and compete in their first 5.85k of the season.
In the Crimson Classic, the Bulldogs faced 23 other teams which included 5 SEC opponents. The University of Alabama, the University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee, Auburn University and the University of Kentucky all went head to head with Mississippi State. Going into the race, Alabama was ranked 14th nationally and first in the South Region, and Tennessee was ranked 6th in the South Region.
The Bulldogs had six runners finish in the Top 100 in the 5.85k with freshman Ramat Jimoh leading the charge. Jimoh secured a 14th place finish in the race with a time of 20:36.1.
Junior Hayley Ogle, freshman Jaeyln Ogle, sophomore Hunter Anderson, junior Madison Jones and freshman Mallory Streetman finished 28th, 35th, 51st, 91st and 100th place, respectively.
Mississippi State head coach Chris Woods spoke highly of having two freshmen finish in his team’s top three performers.
“Our number one (finisher) and number three (finisher) being freshman means our future is bright,” Woods said.
The other five runners for the Bulldogs were freshman Gabrielle Boulay, freshman Brooklyn Quanz, sophomore Savannah McIntosh, redshirt freshman Maci Mills and freshman Madelyn Keating.
The young talent on Mississippi State’s roster makes for a hopeful future.
Following their performance, Bulldogs coach Erinn Stenman-Faley talked about the momentum this meet brought for the team.
“This was a really good step in the right direction,” Stenman-Faley said. “I’m feeling good with good momentum going into SEC Championship.”
Mississippi State ended their day with a total of 215 points, which put the Bulldogs ahead of Samford (221), Tennessee (225) and Eastern Kentucky (238). Host school Alabama took home the first place finish with 42 points. Auburn placed second with 131 points.
Head coach Woods talked about this season’s performance and what it has shown about his team.
“This is our best regular season performance we’ve had in a long time,” Woods said. “We came in and competed with other teams in our conference and showed that we can be other teams in our conference which we have been striving to do.”
Up next, MSU will travel to the University of South Carolina to compete in the Southeastern Conference Championship on October 27. The meet will be broadcast on SEC Network. Until then, the Bulldogs will be resting and preparing for the big day.
Bulldogs mark their territory at Crimson Classic
The Mississippi State women’s cross country team training on an early morning at the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge.
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