Troy University Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Oxford, Ala.
Troy University
at
JSU Foothills Invitational
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Underclassmen Lead the Way for Troy at JSU Foothills Invitational
10/3/2015 7:16:00 PM | Cross Country
OXFORD, Alabama – Highlighted by solid performances by underclassmen despite unfavorable weather, Troy's men's and women's cross country teams left the JSU Foothills Invitational on Saturday morning with several new personal-best times over the 5K and 8K distances.
"Since we didn't bring our whole squad to the meet, we weren't as concerned with how we finished as a team – we were more focused on seeing individual improvement," said head coach Elliott Blount. "In general, we did see that, but mostly from the underclassmen. It's important that we get everybody on the same page heading into championship week."
Despite being shorthanded, the Trojan men claimed third in a field of seven teams by placing three runners in the top 20. Freshman Brennan Garriques finished 11th out of 58 competitors in a personal-best time of 26:18.90, which made him Troy's top finisher for the third meet this year. He was tailed by sophomore Dylan Ogburn, who raced in tandem with Garriques for most of the race and finished in 26:37.07 for 14th place. Junior Tim Bulger arrived next for the Trojans in 26:50.66 in 18th, then sophomore Eric Schueller and junior Sean Kent, respectively.
Led by a breakthrough performance by sophomore Sarah Zylstra, the women's team also returned with a number of personal bests. For the first time, Zylstra earned Troy's top spot with a personal-best time of 18:46.23, which was good for 18th place out of 71 runners. Senior Julia Ostendorf finished in second on the wet, grassy course, followed by junior Katrina Bokenfohr, who broke 20 minutes in the 5K for the first time. She was followed by sophomore Naomi Sheppard, junior Kristina Bokenfohr and junior Rae Leach, in that order.
Auburn took home both the men's and women's team titles, with senior Redatu Semeon winning the men's race as the only competitor to finish in under 25 minutes. On the women's side, Auburn's runners placed fourth through ninth with an average time of 17:57.04.
Troy cross country will be back in action next week Friday, October 16, at the Crimson Classic hosted in Tuscaloosa by the University of Alabama. Fans can follow along with Troy track and field and cross country on Twitter @TroyTrojanXC_TF and Instagram @troytrojanstfxc.
For more information on Troy Athletics, fans can find the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram @TroyAthletics and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
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