Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Sun Belt Cross Country Championships
Troy Youth Shows Promise at Sun Belt Championships
10/28/2017 10:09:00 AM | Cross Country
BOONE, N.C. – Troy concluded the Sun Belt Championships on Saturday morning with the men taking sixth place while the women came in 11th highlighted by four top-25 finishes by the men.
"The team place finishes on both sides fell well short of our ability and expectation," head coach Elliott Blount said. "Our women led by our freshmen weren't as sharp as we would've liked having missed some meets midseason and it showed today. If there is a sliver lining, they will be leading this team for years to come and they are a mentally tough bunch.
"On the men's side, we were operating with a very small margin of error. We aren't deep, and when one of the five falls flat we pay dearly, and that's what we saw. It's just the worse when it happens at the meet that matters the most on the schedule. If we fail to rise to the occasion in meets like this, Troy cross country will never take the next step. It's a small improvement from years past, but we lost to teams who wanted it more today. With regionals in two weeks, we can't feel sorry for ourselves and we have to finish this season off right."
Taking the top spot was Brackin Stewart at 17th place, who had a time of 25:52.5 in the 8k event. He was trailed just slightly by Sawyer Spurng, who notched a 19th place finish at 25:59.6.Rounding out the top-25 grouping was junior Brennan Garriques with a time of 26:12.5 for 23rd place and sophomore Bradley Dixon just a shade behind at 26:15.1.
The sixth place finish was two spots higher than last year's finish at the Sun Belt Championships in Dothan, Ala.
Troy's total time was 2:11.30 with a spread of 1:17.3. The winner of the men's cross country championship was host Appalachian State at 2:08.43 and a spread of 0:45.4. Second place was UT Arlington and third place was Texas State.
On the women's end, four freshmen logged the top finishes for the Trojans as Kara Coulter crossed the line first in 36th at a time of 18:55.4 in the 5k and an average mile of 6:05.1.
Behind her was Christie Caruana, who had missed the past two meets with injury but pushed through today to finish 50th with a time of 19:13.9 and an average mile time of 6:11.0.
The winner on the women's side was Texas State with a time of 1:30.32. They were followed by Appalachian State in second and South Alabama in third.
For more information on Troy cross country, visit TroyTrojans.com or follow the team on social media at @TroyTrojansTFXC.
Players Mentioned
