Troy Competes at Trojan Invitational

Friday, August 30

Troy, Ala.

TBA

Troy University

Trojan Invitational

Photo by: Cass Davis

8/30/2013 8:31:00 PM | Cross Country, Cross Country (M), Cross Country (W)

By: Joe St. Pierre

Women's Results Men's Results

TROY, Ala. – The Troy University cross country team hosted its first meet of the season on Friday night, the Trojan Invitational. Eight total teams participated in the event that saw several Trojan athletes post quality times.

The men's side put up some solid performances in the 5k race, finishing third overall. Enock Kirui led the Trojans at 16:49.40, finishing sixth. Next in line for Troy was newcomer Travis Lucas in 15th, who posted a time of 17:24.93. Troy's third finisher was also a newcomer, with Shakiel Parker placing 19th at 17:41.78.

"Some of the freshmen did really well today," said cross country coach Jeff Jenkins. "Some of them were bold early in the race, and they paid for it late, but that's something that we will be working on over these next nine weeks."

Sean Kent placed 21st, finishing the race in 17:49.24, while Sam Ammons was Troy's final scorer, placing 23rd with a time of 17:57.46.

Timothy Bulger finished just outside of the top five for the Trojans in 24th, completing the race in 18:12.34. Madison Estes also had a solid race, placing 27th at 18:38.37.

On the women's side, Troy placed fifth overall with 113 points. Julia Ostendorf, Troy's top returner, returned to form with an 11th place finish in 11:14.81. Freshman Mikayla Hodges finished 17th in her first collegiate race with a time of 11:28.93.

"Today's 3k was an odd distance," Jenkins said. "I think overall they ran really well though. The best thing that we did today was put people together. There weren't any big gaps between athletes, something that we've had in the past."

Marsel Mosley picked up a 26th place finish in 12:04.81, while Sara Lane finished 30th in 12:14.43. Right behind Lane was Samantha Smith, placing 31st in 12:16.27.

Keaton Wallace took 33rd in 12:19.11, while Haley Davies placed 43rd in 12:44.90. Tina Bokenfohr and Kat Bokenfohr placed 44th and 45th, respectively.

"We had a good first race," coach Jill Lancaster said. "I'm happy with the performances today. It was also great to see so many students, both athletes and otherwise, stick around after the pep rally to support our team, and we hope that they come back for our next meet, the Coach "O" Invitational, and the Sun Belt Championships in November."

The Trojans now travel to South Alabama for the Azalea City Classic on September 14.

Fans can keep up with all the action by following Troy track and field/cross country on Twitter at @TroyTrojanXC_TF .

For more information on all of Troy Athletics, fans can find the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyAthletics, or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.