NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Nicholls State University cross country teams start their season with fourth place performances at the UNO Season Opener, at Lake Oaks Park in New Orleans on Friday. 

The Nicholls men's side had two individuals place in the top 30. The unit was led by true freshman Avery Morgan, who finished the 5k course with a personal best of 16:11.00 to earn himself 25th place in his collegiate debut. The second Colonel to take home a place in the top 30 was Lucas Futey who ran the race in 16:22.00 to claim 30th. 

Like the men, the Nicholls women's squad had two individuals in the top 30, again led by a true freshman Maria Nikolaou. Nikolaou ran the 4k course in 14:52.00 to secure 19th place in her collegiate debut. Next to cross the line for the Colonels was Kassidy Besson, who ran the course in 14:56.00 finishing in 24th place. 

Head Coach Stefanie Slekis shared her thoughts after the season opener. 

"I'm really pleased with our performance. It was great to see how tight our teams' spreads were for both the men and women. For the women our top one to five had less than one minute separating them and just over one minute for the men." 

Slekis spoke about how she is feeling for the rest of the season.

"If we can keep that same time spread [through one to five] when the distances increase as the season progresses, then we will be very successful as a team as we head into longer races in October and November" 

UP NEXT
In less than two weeks the Colonels will race in Baton Rouge in the LSU Invitational on Friday, Sept. 15.