Troy Wraps Up Southern Showcase Invite

Friday, September 15

Huntsville, Ala.

Troy University

Southern Showcase Invite

9/15/2023 2:24:00 PM | Cross Country

RESULTS - WOMEN (PDF)RESULTS - MEN (PDF)

By: Troy Athletics Communications

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – An early Friday morning meet at the John Hunt Cross Country Park wrapped up with a 20^th place overall in the 8k for the Troy men's cross country team, followed by the women finishing the 5k in 21^st.

"We executed today's plan quite well—passed a lot of people in the middle of the race and gave a full effort for the day," head coach Brian Cunningham said. "We improved our team placements on both sides. All in all, it is a good return to full-distance racing. I'll say that we are happy with this early season race but not satisfied."

Against 302 competitors in the men's 8k, freshman Keith Warner shined again with a 110th-place finish. Warner started slow through the first 1.6k, sitting in 203^rd before jumping 56 spots (147^th) by the 4.6k mark. He didn't stop there, continuing the climb to 110^th with a time of 26:01.70 to score 93 points.

Behind Warner sat Samuel Megginson (26:51.10), who came alive in the final 1.8k when he skyrocketed 48 spots from the 4.6k to 8k mark to finish 161^st. Senior Dylan Nelson crossed the finish line third for the Trojans to finish 184^th overall, improving 45 spots from last year's race for 143 points.

Troy runners Caden Blackman and Zane McPeters battled to the end, racing each other on the final stretch for position. Blackman ran ahead of McPeters for most of the race, holding a 41-point advantage through the first 1.6k. Blackman mounted the comeback quickly, trimming the gap to seven spots with 1.8k remaining. In the final stretch, McPeters held firm, keeping Blackman behind him in 195^th at 27:27.70, while the Spain Park High School graduate finished 193^rd at 27:26.90.

On the women's side, Makenna Calbert returned to Huntsville and improved 87 spots from 2022 to finish as the highest-placing Trojan at 103 – timed at 18:46.60. Her best stretch came between the 1.6k and 3.2k marks, where she jumped 64 spots.

Cadi Rowe and Giulianna Rivero finished inside the top 200, ending in 153^rd and 189^th, respectively. Rowe maintained her split times under seven minutes to finish at 19:27.60. Meanwhile, Rivero jumped out to a solid start in 175^th after the first 1.6k before splitting slightly after a 7:11.50 final split to finish the course at 20:00.40.

The Trojans set their sights on heading to Montgomery for the Huntingdon 8k/6k set on Sept. 29.

Full Results
Men:
110^th – Keith Warner (26:01.70)
161^st – Samuel Megginson (26:51.10)
184^th – Dylan Nelson (27:16.50)
193^rd – Caden Blackman (27:26.90)
195^th – Zane McPeters (27:27.70)
218^th – Tyler Baker (28:11.40)
DNF – Garrett Bishop

Women:
103^rd – Makenna Calbert (18:46.60)
153^rd – Cadi Rowe (19:27.60)
189^th – Giulianna Rivero (20:00.40)
206^th– Rhema Taylor (20:21.60)
236^th – Aisley McMeen (21:11.60)
318^th – Kennedy Jones (27:16.60)