WEST FELICIANA, La. -- The Nicholls State University cross country program erupted in just the team's second meet of the 2019 campaign, stealing a pair of strong finishes -- first for the men & second for the women -- at the SU XC Invitational on Saturday morning. An exceptionally young core of runners propelled the men's squad, as sophomores
Tyler Granger &
Dustin Worley along with freshman
Olari Livingston all placed inside the the field's top five; for the women, junior
Eleana Callejas powered the group behind her second-place run while sophomore
Faith Keter and fellow junior
Joyce Kiplagat each grabbed top 10 rankings.
The performances by Livingston, Granger & Worley served as a significant lift in what proved a dominant race for the Colonels, racking up individual finishes of second, fourth and fifth, respectively. Freshman
Octavio Vasquez-Tilley tacked on eighth place while sophomore Cam Carter rounded out the Colonels' scoring behind a 14th overall finish. Despite not factoring into the final scoring decision, the freshmen duo of
Hunter Batt &
Eric Brown posted their strongest showing since joining the program, crossing the finish line in 15th and 19th, respectively.
The final team scoring saw the men clinch the meet victory by a solid10 points, outpacing host Southern (43, second), Grambling (56, third), Alcorn State (109, fourth) and Louisiana College (116, fifth). Individually, the men managed to place three runners ahead of the Jaguars' first to cross the finish line.
"The men did a fantastic job navigating a smart team race," head coach
Stefanie Slekis said. "We ran a controlled the first loop as planned and closed really well over the second loop for a solid victory, which was the team goal heading into this meet. Having three in the top five and our top three ahead of Southern's top runner was our team's ultimate goal. This meet gives our men great momentum heading into another solid week of training before we face regionally ranked LSU and four other Division I opponents. It was exciting to see our young group work together and execute our team race strategy perfectly. Cam Carter did an exceptional job as an 800m runner stepping up to fill in for our fifth man this meet so the team could take the win."
Meanwhile, the women's squad put together another strong showing despite resting many of its top runners, grabbing the team's second second-place finish in as many meets. Beyond Callejas' excellent showing, Keter managed to capture a seventh-overall finish while Kiplagat slipped into the top 10 at ninth. The freshmen pair of
Lauren Graham &
Summer Seal closed out the scoring for the Colonels, clinching 12th and 19th on the final leaderboard.
For team scoring, the Red & Gray were slightly edged by host Southern (37-to-49) but managed to knock off Grambling (51, third), Louisiana College (81, fourth) and Alcorn State (111, fifth).
"Eleana did a great job job today leading our women's team," Slekis continued. "The goal was to give the women who will be competing to make the final spot on our Championship roster of Top 7/8 a chance to run at the front and be aggressive and Eleana took that on really well and proved she has put in the most work for herself leading into her junior season. Summer ran a lifetime personal best to step up as our fifth runner, solidifying second place for our team. Our women's current top seven are ready to train through this week in order to prepare for the 6k distance later this season at the Championships."
UP NEXT
With competition wrapped up in the state capital, the Colonels will receive a well-deserved break before shifting focus to the program's home debut -- the Nicholls XC Invitational -- on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Nicholls Farm in Thibodaux, La.
STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Colonels Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Twitter (
@Nicholls_XCTF), Instagram (
@geauxcolonels) and like their Facebook page (
Nicholls Athletics).
-- #GeauxColonels --
