KSU’s men’s and women’s cross country teams have continued to see success under first-year head coach Ryan Wagner.
The Owls finished first and second, respectively, to take the title at the UWG Wolves Invitational at West Georgia University in Carrollton, Ga., on Saturday.
Senior Nabil Hamid led the men’s team to its first-place finish with an individual title. He ran an 8k low of 24:01:06.
Ryan Burruss, Josh Jenkins, Natan Reuter and Justin Howell followed suit for the Black and Gold, as all of the men’s runners finished in the top-15 of the field.
“The men ran an excellent race,” Wagner said. “We had great team tactics and it paid off for us.”
Jenkins, a sophomore from Athens, Ga., had a career best performance to finish in seventh, finishing with a time of 24:48:94.
Lauren Scott, who was named the A-Sun runner of the week for her performance at the Auburn Invitational last week, finished in fifth place—a career best.
Scott ran her 5k in 18:31:36, and lead the Owls to a second place finish in the race behind rival Georgia State.
Fellow freshman Destiny Jenkins and Greciana Cooper finished seventh and eighth, respectively, while Heather Morris finished 12th. Freshman Andzelika Bobrova just minished a top-15 finish with a time of 19:40:28.
“To have all five of our scorers finish in the top 16 is a major accomplishment,” Wagner said. “The women were assisted by huge performances from Destiny Jenkins, Greciana Cooper and Heather Morris.”
KSU’s cross country teams have continued the tradition of success that was established under former head coach Stan Sims, who retired last season. Wagner’s transition has been smooth so far.
Natan Reuter, who was named A-Sun men’s runner of the week last week, helped the Owls to a second-place finish at the Auburn Invitational.
KSU will hit the road again on Oct. 5 to compete at the Florida State Invitational, hosted by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fl.
