Women's Results | Men's Results

MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The Nicholls State cross country teams competed in the Blazer Classic at the Alabama Traffic Safety Center Friday morning, resulting in a 15th-place finish by the women and a 14th-place finish by the men.
 
The women's squad posted 419 points in the 6k, while the men totaled 367 in the 8k.
 
Freshman Julia Garcia Verges led the women for the fourth consecutive meet, finishing 90th on a 24-minute, 11.02-second run, the Colonels third-best 6k performer in the past five years. Freshman Faith Keter followed at 99th on a 25:31.14, while freshman Lara Reifers (25:37.07) and sophomore Joyce Kiplagat (25:49.92) placed 101st and 102nd respectively. Also crossing the finish line for the Colonels was sophomore Eleana Callejas (26:07.88), who finished 106th.

"The women learned a lot from today and did a good job of closing the spread from our 1-5 to back under two minutes," Nicholls head coach Stefanie Slekis said. "We'll look to get better in two weeks at the conference meet, but it was a strong team effort with room to grow the next two weeks and a month before regionals. Julia Garcia Verges did a great job of putting herself in the race in her first-ever 6k race. I am excited to about how she can compete at conference."
 
Freshman Daniel Figueroa was the top finisher on the men's squad, placing 63rd on a 27:23.98. Freshman Tyler Granger finished 70th on a 27:41.09. Those two 8k times rank third and fifth, respectively, for Nicholls in the last decade. They were followed by freshman Jonathan Hernandez (28:25.38) in 82nd. Additionally, freshman Dustin Worley (28:46.53) and junior Teril Cooper (33:11.44) rounded out the pack at 85th and 107th, respectively.

"Our young men's team did an exceptional job navigating their first 8k, especially against a large and competitive field," Slekis said. "We got out aggressive to test our limits and did a good job maintaining through the hills and second half of the race. I am excited to see how we can perform in two weeks. We've done some tremendous training the past month that we will see the full benefits of soon."

Tennessee took the crown on the women's side, totaling 45 points, while Florida State won the men's race with 43 points. Individual titles went to Tennessee Tech's Sanga Purity (20:28.56) and Florida A&M's David Too (23:56.94).
 
The Colonels' next competition will take place in Lake Charles at the Southland Conference Championships on October 26. 
 
To stay up to date with the Nicholls cross country squads, follow the teams on twitter @Nicholls_XCTF.